2017 HOF Headliner?

[That N Word]

I have a feeling for the second year in the row a active WWE Superstar will headline the WWE Hall Of Fame Class.

Only 2 men I'm history holds that prestige honor. One being 2008 Headliner,"Nature Boy" Ric Flair. The other being 2016 Headliner, "The Icon" Sting. WWE is pretty much at the point where they're out of headliners who aren't under performer contracts currently. Right now you got guys like The Rock,The Undertaker, John Cena,Triple H,Kane,The Big Show,Goldberg,or Chris Jericho, who could realistically go in as active competitors.

As of now, I can't think of anybody being the Headliner besides Goldberg,Rock or Undertaker. Problem with Rock, is he can't make up his mind on whether he is retired or not and has pretty much stated he doesn't want to go in until he's completely done because he doesn't want to be forced out. As for Undertaker, he probably would be the best option. However,rumor has it his match with Cena will be "Career vs. Career."

Wouldn't that give away the outcome? So I guess Goldberg would be perfect...IF he's not planning on making this a full last run. Which from what I hear he is strongly considering.

Only retired name I could see going in as a headliner is "The Animal" Batista, who's contract recently expired last month. Or maybe Rey Mysterio. Problem is I don't think "The Master Of The 619" will be a headliner. Despite the fact that he should be.

My guess is Goldberg,Undertaker,or The Rock.

 

[sikkbones]

Mickie james could also be the headliner.

I doubt it but...

The fact is the headliner should be Owen hart every year until he's actually inducted.

 

[Ex-Degenerate]

I Can see the following for 2017 WWE Hall of Fame as follows

Daniel Bryan
Goldberg
The Dudley Boys (assuming they are retired as a tag team)
Honky Tonk Man (finally)
Beth Phoenix (3 time woman's champ, one time Diva's camp, 2008 Diva of the year)

They'll wait on the Rock and Undertaker til there done for good. The next three or four years your gonna have Kane, Big Show, Mark Henry, HHH, Gold dust and Jericho, and farther down the road The Miz, Ziggler, and ultimately, Cena.

 

[tak161]

I Can see the following for 2017 WWE Hall of Fame as follows

Daniel Bryan
Goldberg
The Dudley Boys (assuming they are retired as a tag team)
Honky Tonk Man (finally)
Beth Phoenix (3 time woman's champ, one time Diva's camp, 2008 Diva of the year)

Surely you don't put Beth in before Mickie James or Victoria. They should go in before Beth Phoenix, who obviously will go in at some point.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Ravishing Rick Rude
The Steiner Brothers
The Russian Nightmare Nikita Kolov
Big Van Vader
Sting
Sid Vicious
Lex Luger
Barry Windham
Dan Spivey


All these guys could get a nod towards the hall of fame, but Sting will probably be the big one in 2017.

 

[Elchicano15]

2 People come to mind.

1. Daniel Bryan. I'm probably one of the few that would support this because frankly, there's isn't a headliner, that's currently retired to, headline next year's class. It never really bothered me to put someone in so soon. I would rather put someone in who has already retired.

2. Goldberg. I have a reason to believe that his match with Brock in a few weeks, could be his last. He's almost 50 and he kinda hinted it off when he said "Brock, not only are you next, but you're last"

Other names that I think should the class are

Brutus The Barber BeefCake. Orlando Local, entertained us 80s kids, former tag champ
Demolition Just put that team in already.
Rick Rude Posthumous Inductee
Vader
Lay Cool Have a female team go in.
Celebrity Maybe Lemi? or give him the warrior award.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

Ravishing Rick Rude
The Steiner Brothers
The Russian Nightmare Nikita Kolov
Big Van Vader
Sting
Sid Vicious
Lex Luger
Barry Windham
Dan Spivey


All these guys could get a nod towards the hall of fame, but Sting will probably be the big one in 2017.

Again? He was the headliner for 2016 HOF.

 

[OYDK]

I could see it being Vader. Sure, he's not the strongest option for a headliner, but we're running out of names at this point and I'd argue Vader's career, all things considered, is more than illustrious enough to at least put him in the discussion. Not every headlining name has to be an Austin or a Foley or a Sting, there are a lot of guys a tier lower that deserve the nod as well.

Some of Vader's accomplishments include:

2x Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion (AJPW)
3x IWGP Heavyweight Champion (NJPW)
UWA Heavyweight Champion
3x WCW World Champion
First gaijin to ever hold the IWGP Heavyweight title
First man to hold three world championships from three different continents at the same time
Wrestler of the Year 1993
AND a 20 year career spent almost entirely in the main event.

And that's not even mentioning all the lower tier titles he's won throughout his career. Vader may not have done much in the WWE, but his influence on the business can not be denied.

But it'll likely be Goldberg. I don't think they'd put Bryan in this early and Goldberg has been a long time coming. Now that he's made his peace with the company, there's no reason not to put him in.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I think Goldberg is kind of a package deal... he does the match and then does Mania/HOF... perhaps even wrestling there...

There is one match and tack they could take to squeeze one more match (and a win should Brock cream him) at Mania... have co-headliners who fight each other at Mania... the one match we never quite saw properly but that would have been awesome... Chris Jericho v Goldberg

Goldberg and Jericho BOTH headline the HOF and it gets a little tetchy between them, Jericho feels he should get the honor alone as he has done more in WWE, Goldberg says he could never beat him in the ring or without a sucker punch (not true of course)... it goes back and forth for a couple of months, with Jericho mocking Bill for his loss to Brock and saying how he is still A-List, can go and got there in spite of Goldberg's attempts to hold him down in WCW... He ends his rant with all Bill proved was he doesn't belong in the HOF but he can prove it by facing him at Mania, the one opponent he ducked in WCW and who kicked his ass backstage for real, without the "sucker punch" he claims... If Jericho loses he'll retire, but if Goldberg loses, he's out of the Hall Of Fame!

It'd be a great "spectacle" match for Mania, one that could see both guys really have a fun last hurrah... Goldberg should really lose to Brock, so him going out on a loss is a shame... where as Jericho could take that loss, it fits his idiom to always leave crying and screaming it's unfair... but this time, as part of the HOF where he belongs.

Bryan is likely, but it seems a little forced and soon... I was never a fan of them inducting someone like Edge as soon as they retire through injury as it seems like a consolation prize, rather than a thought out honor. You also CANNOT say Bryan has done as much in WWE as Edge did... so perhaps wait till next year for him.

The other logical headliner for me with Florida the host is The Rock... They probably can get him there for the night itself and Mania, but not to run a programme... a HOF nod is something he can negotiate with his movie people over to do...and if he does another last minute shock match no one will complain too much (Can see him paying off the Rusev stuff) but personally, I think Hollywood is a more fitting location for him to go in.

If I could choose my HOF this year it would be

Goldberg & Jericho (Co-Headliners & facing each other)
The British Bulldog
Rick "The Model" Martel (Deserves it big time... I can see DDP replacing him though)
Brutus Beefcake (The way to get Hogan back in by inducting him, that they just did the whole video thing with him "coming back to WWE" proves he is going in...)
The Rockers (Yep, make Shawn a 2 Time Inductee and give Marty the honor)
Jim Johnstone
Warrior Award: Kris Travis (UK wrestler who passed from Cancer)

The female inductee is kind of a problem, no one left really "deserves it" in the way the following 3 do... Woman/Nancy Benoit, Elizabeth or Chyna... all are dead so would mean losing Davey, Rude or Pillman (all 3 should be in there now) and have their own controversies... They could get away with Woman by inducting her as that name and instructing no reference to her death, but maybe they should... She wasn't responsible and shouldn't lose her place in the HOF because of Benoit. They just have to avoid Sullivan inducting her... Same for Liz, Luger inducting her or going in the same time would be poor taste and lead to "you killed Liz chants" but Lanny could easily do it as her ex-brother in law or someone like Lita or Trish...

 

[sikkbones]

2 People come to mind.

1. Daniel Bryan. I'm probably one of the few that would support this because frankly, there's isn't a headliner, that's currently retired to, headline next year's class. It never really bothered me to put someone in so soon. I would rather put someone in who has already retired.

2. Goldberg. I have a reason to believe that his match with Brock in a few weeks, could be his last. He's almost 50 and he kinda hinted it off when he said "Brock, not only are you next, but you're last"

Other names that I think should the class are

Brutus The Barber BeefCake. Orlando Local, entertained us 80s kids, former tag champ
Demolition Just put that team in already.
Rick Rude Posthumous Inductee
Vader
Lay Cool Have a female team go in.
Celebrity Maybe Lemi? or give him the warrior award.

Lemmy himself could headline the hall of fame, get Metallica to do there motorhead impression, it would lend credibility to the celebrity wing, and if james and Lars aste there, might give Vince some needed mainstream exposure.


Re ms. Elisabeth the only person to induct her should be hogan, you could have valiant or any of Beefcakes tsg team partners induct him.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Mickie james could also be the headliner.

I doubt it but...

The fact is the headliner should be Owen hart every year until he's actually inducted.

It's unlikely Owen Hart goes in by himself because his widow all but files suit against WWE whenever his name is mentioned or his image is shown on WWE television. She raised hell when the Hart family as a whole were inducted, she raised hell when WWE put out a Hart DVD compilation featuring Owen and she raised hell when WWE did an Owen Hart solo DVD compilation. It's sort of one of those situations where WWE just can't really win; if they don't induct him, then they get criticized by fans and wrestling insiders but if they did induct him, it almost certainly wouldn't be with the approval/permission of his widow & children and they'd still be criticized by fans and wrestling insiders.

I think it'll probably happen someday but I don't think he'd be the headliner considering they've never had a posthumous inductee headline and Owen wasn't a main eventer. I liked Owen Hart, I really do, but I also believe that fans have elevated his standing to a level that he never really attained in life. He was always a mid-card & tag team fixture aside from the few times he wrestled against Bret for the WWF Championship. Personally, it wouldn't bother me if they went the direction of Owen inducted and headlining with a lot of nostalgia surrounding it, but I don't think it's likely.

I read that someone mentioned the Steiner Brothers and while they're definitely HOF worthy, it's not going to happen because of Scott Steiner. For one thing, regarding the 2015 HOF ceremony, Steiner got in Hogan's wife's face at the airport by swearing, raving and, according to her, threatened to kill Hogan. I remember reading that he was banned from the HOF, but I don't know if that means he was banned from attending the HOF ceremony or if he'll also never be inducted.

The Honky Tonk Man won't go in because WWE's tired of asking him. According to HTM himself, they've asked multiple times but he just hasn't been interested. From a personal standpoint, that doesn't bother me a bit as I never could stand the guy; in my opinion, he should've been a comedy jobber rather than the longest reigning IC champ in history.

For headliners, WWE usually tries to get the biggest names they can. There aren't a ton of mega stars left to induct. Goldberg strikes me as a possibility for next year. WWE's gone out of its way over the course of the last 6 months or so to mend fences with him and I have trouble believing that it was primarily so they could use his likeness in a video game.

 

[theuk savior]

Ravishing Rick Rude
The Steiner Brothers
The Russian Nightmare Nikita Kolov
Big Van Vader
Sting
Sid Vicious
Lex Luger
Barry Windham
Dan Spivey


All these guys could get a nod towards the hall of fame, but Sting will probably be the big one in 2017.

sting is already in

back to subject the deadman will be headliner this year it is in his home state (sorry it is not maina is in florida and the rumble is in texas

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Lemmy himself could headline the hall of fame, get Metallica to do there motorhead impression, it would lend credibility to the celebrity wing, and if james and Lars aste there, might give Vince some needed mainstream exposure.


Re ms. Elisabeth the only person to induct her should be hogan, you could have valiant or any of Beefcakes tsg team partners induct him.

No way Brutus goes in with anyone but Hogan inducting him, they've been pals since their earliest days... Hogan inducting Liz makes sense, but it might also be seen as in appropriate considering the rumors over the years... just like Steph couldn't induct her, even if it makes sense from a "strong woman of WWE" perspective... the whispers would take away from it being about Liz... Lanny would be a fair guy, could tell the stories of Liz and Randy without causing too much upset.

 

[ztwhite]

Lots of names that haven't been mentioned yet, but only two who I would classify as headliners...

Rey Mysterio
Kurt Angle

Others not mentioned who deserve induction...

Haystacks Calhoun
Bruiser Brody
Jim Crockett, Sr.
Eric Bischoff
Jim Cornette
Toots Mondt
Cyndi Lauper
Andy Kaufman

 

[Rulk25]

Career wise they probably have her beat...but the thing is that unlike either of them Beth is 100% retired...plus you have the added fact that Beth will bring in Edge to induct her

Surely you don't put Beth in before Mickie James or Victoria. They should go in before Beth Phoenix, who obviously will go in at some point.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Last summer, I came up with a list of who I think should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame over the next few years (excluding celebrity inductees), as well as who should induct them, so I'm just going to post that here (this was before WM32, so some have now been inducted):

Class of 2016:

1 - The Undertaker, inducted by Kane (headliner)
2 - John "Bradshaw" Layfield, inducted by Ron Simmons
3 - Demolition, inducted by Mr. Fuji
4 - Sable, inducted by Triple H
5 - Andrew "Test" Martin, inducted by Stacy Keibler
6 - "Hercules" Hernandez, inducted by Bobby Heenan


Class of 2017:

1 - "Ravishing" Rick Rude, inducted by Jesse Ventura (headliner)
2 - Lex Luger, inducted by Sting
3 - Rick "The Model" Martel, inducted by Tito Santana
4 - Miss Elizabeth, inducted by Hulk Hogan
5 - "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, inducted by Bret Hart
6 - Paul Heyman, inducted by Tommy Dreamer


Class of 2018:

1 - The nWo (Hogan, Hall, Nash), inducted by Eric Bischoff (headliners)
2 - Owen Hart, inducted by Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart
3 - Stacy Keibler, inducted by Torrie Wilson
4 - Christian, inducted by Edge
5 - Mike Rotunda aka Irwin R. Schyster, inducted by Ted DiBiase


Class of 2019:

1 - Kane, inducted by The Undertaker (headliner)
2 - The Dudley Boyz, inducted by Paul Heyman
3 - Rob Van Dam, inducted by Sabu
4 - Sycho Sid, inducted by Harvey Whippleman
5 - Mickie James, inducted by Trish Stratus
6 - Earthquake, inducted by Typhoon


Class of 2020:

1 - Sting, inducted by Ric Flair (headliner)
2 - Kurt Angle, inducted by Bob Backlund
3 - The Big Show, inducted by Shane McMahon
4 - Lord Alfred Hayes, inducted by Vince McMahon
5 - Victoria, inducted by Trish Stratus
6 - Diamond Dallas Page, inducted by Booker T


Class of 2021:

1 - Triple H, inducted by Shawn Michaels (headliner)
2 - Mr. McMahon, inducted by Shane & Stephanie McMahon
3 - Michelle McCool, inducted by Layla
4 - The New Age Outlaws, inducted by Triple H
5 - Eric Bischoff, inducted by Hulk Hogan
6 - Hardcore Holly, inducted by Cody Rhodes


Class of 2022:

1 - Chris Jericho, inducted by Stephanie McMahon (headliner)
2 - Jeff Hardy, inducted by Matt Hardy
3 - Matt Hardy, inducted by Jeff Hardy
4 - William Regal, inducted by Dave Taylor
5 - Torrie Wilson, inducted by Stacy Keibler
6 - Goldust, inducted by Cody Rhodes

 

[Rulk25]

A Few problems with your list
A) 2020 headliner Sting.....He is already in...and Jeff Farmer is nowhere close to being ready
B) Sable if she is going in it will be with Brock
C) Class of 2017 has way too many decesed members...They rarely like to do more than one and you have 3 and Lex is basically at Death's door

Last summer, I came up with a list of who I think should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame over the next few years (excluding celebrity inductees), as well as who should induct them, so I'm just going to post that here (this was before WM32, so some have now been inducted):

Class of 2016:

1 - The Undertaker, inducted by Kane (headliner)
2 - John "Bradshaw" Layfield, inducted by Ron Simmons
3 - Demolition, inducted by Mr. Fuji
4 - Sable, inducted by Triple H
5 - Andrew "Test" Martin, inducted by Stacy Keibler
6 - "Hercules" Hernandez, inducted by Bobby Heenan


Class of 2017:

1 - "Ravishing" Rick Rude, inducted by Jesse Ventura (headliner)
2 - Lex Luger, inducted by Sting
3 - Rick "The Model" Martel, inducted by Tito Santana
4 - Miss Elizabeth, inducted by Hulk Hogan
5 - "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, inducted by Bret Hart
6 - Paul Heyman, inducted by Tommy Dreamer


Class of 2018:

1 - The nWo (Hogan, Hall, Nash), inducted by Eric Bischoff (headliners)
2 - Owen Hart, inducted by Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart
3 - Stacy Keibler, inducted by Torrie Wilson
4 - Christian, inducted by Edge
5 - Mike Rotunda aka Irwin R. Schyster, inducted by Ted DiBiase


Class of 2019:

1 - Kane, inducted by The Undertaker (headliner)
2 - The Dudley Boyz, inducted by Paul Heyman
3 - Rob Van Dam, inducted by Sabu
4 - Sycho Sid, inducted by Harvey Whippleman
5 - Mickie James, inducted by Trish Stratus
6 - Earthquake, inducted by Typhoon


Class of 2020:

1 - Sting, inducted by Ric Flair (headliner)
2 - Kurt Angle, inducted by Bob Backlund
3 - The Big Show, inducted by Shane McMahon
4 - Lord Alfred Hayes, inducted by Vince McMahon
5 - Victoria, inducted by Trish Stratus
6 - Diamond Dallas Page, inducted by Booker T


Class of 2021:

1 - Triple H, inducted by Shawn Michaels (headliner)
2 - Mr. McMahon, inducted by Shane & Stephanie McMahon
3 - Michelle McCool, inducted by Layla
4 - The New Age Outlaws, inducted by Triple H
5 - Eric Bischoff, inducted by Hulk Hogan
6 - Hardcore Holly, inducted by Cody Rhodes


Class of 2022:

1 - Chris Jericho, inducted by Stephanie McMahon (headliner)
2 - Jeff Hardy, inducted by Matt Hardy
3 - Matt Hardy, inducted by Jeff Hardy
4 - William Regal, inducted by Dave Taylor
5 - Torrie Wilson, inducted by Stacy Keibler
6 - Goldust, inducted by Cody Rhodes

 

[ShinChan]

Either Goldberg or Daniel Bryan.

Goldber only if he retires. Not if he is active as a wrestler.

Either of Goldberg and Daniel Bryan could be a great headliner.

Bryan is one of most over guys ever + most over guy in this decade.

Goldberg is a WCW legend. I am kay with either of them headlining.

Undertaker can headline in 2018.

 

[Aquaman6686]

A Few problems with your list
A) 2020 headliner Sting.....He is already in...and Jeff Farmer is nowhere close to being ready
B) Sable if she is going in it will be with Brock
C) Class of 2017 has way too many decesed members...They rarely like to do more than one and you have 3 and Lex is basically at Death's door

Did you not read the part where I clearly stated I wrote this list well over a year ago, and am very aware that some of the names I mentioned are already in?

Reading comprehension isn't your strong suit, is it?

 

[Italian Ice]

My first post on here...I am also a huge MLB fan, and I think the temptation over time is to induct very good players who have now become 'great' by nostalgic voters...unlike the MLB, there are no stats in wrestling, so any argument is completely subjective...I have read a lot of names in this thread, and while I agree with most of them, I don't believe the likes of Test and Stacy Keibler are HOF worthy...God rest his soul, I don't think Owen Hart would even be in the discussion if not for his tragic death...Then again, Koko B Ware is in, so who knows...

 

[sikkbones]

My first post on here...I am also a huge MLB fan, and I think the temptation over time is to induct very good players who have now become 'great' by nostalgic voters...unlike the MLB, there are no stats in wrestling, so any argument is completely subjective...I have read a lot of names in this thread, and while I agree with most of them, I don't believe the likes of Test and Stacy Keibler are HOF worthy...God rest his soul, I don't think Owen Hart would even be in the discussion if not for his tragic death...Then again, Koko B Ware is in, so who knows...

The dead guy hall of fame it isn't.

But a dead guy that should be in the hall is bruiser Brody.

There is no reason for abbulah to have been inducted first except that he was mick Foley's buddy and still alive.

 

[Gallops77]

This year should be:

Goldberg - Inducted by Eric Bischoff (Headliner)
JBL - Inducted by Ron Simmons
New Age Outlaws - Inducted by Triple H and Shawn Michaels
Jim Neidhart - Inducted by Bret Hart
Miss Elizabeth - Inducted by Hulk Hogan or Trish and Lita
Diamond Dallas Page - Inducted by Jake Roberts

 

[Navi]

I'm struggling to find a name other than the Rock and Goldberg who could headline next year. HHH is clearly still an active wrestler so he can wait awhile. Same with Taker and Kane. So what other big names are out there that haven't been considered yet, and are still alive.

Will be really surprised if JBL isn't included this year. No matter how annoying the guy is on commentary, he should be in the HOF. Been with the WWE for over 20 years as a wrestler, commentator and now hosts shows on the Network. Personally I actually like the guy and judging from the response he got from the Toronto crowd at Roadblock last year the fans like him too. Cole was boo'd out of the arena.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

I think DDP seems like the obvious choice for a headliner, this WM is about as close to WCW territory as you can get without being in Atlanta again.

He has so much good will from the fans for Jake and Scott. Sting and Flair are already in and Goldberg likely will be sometime soon as well, leaving him as the only really big WCW homegrown left to not already be in.

There are other guys I'd like to see go in as well, but he's really the only big headliner that makes sense for this year.

 

[sikkbones]

Another place they need to start looking for the hall of fame is the original ECW.

The whole f'in show, the Dudley's and sabu come to mind for a hardcorebthemed hall of fame.

Has meng/haku been inducted?

You could induct bruiser, heyman, ECW as a whole as well.

I would usually argue against putting a fed in the hall of fame, but ECW is the only one deserving of that honour.

Edit. This only makes sense if wrestlemania is close to philly, barring that Detroit if van dam headlines.