Does Darren Drozdov, also known as "Droz" or "Puke" deserve the HOF?

[MattBrady425]

Darren Drozdov was a young man with a promising caree in the WWE/F. VKM saw potential in him and had some big plans for him. Sadly, due to an in-ring accident in October 1999 during a SmackDown! taping, his career was cut short due to a botched running powerbomb from D'lo Brown.

At 30 years old, he became a paraplegic, and spent many years finally regaining the use of his upper body, but still not his legs.
Does he deserve an induction into the Hall of Fame?
Yes or No?

-Arguments Against HOF Induction-
-He was barely even a midcarder, who never even stood a chance at becoming a main event wrestler.
-The only potential he had was to projectile vomit.
-He knew the risks of pro wrestling.
-He's not the only wrestler to ever break his neck.
-He probably would not have lasted long in the business anyway.

-Arguments For HOF Induction-
-He left his soul, heart, and body in the ring.
-He never blamed anyone for the incident.
-For many years after the incident, he still contributed to the WWE in some capacity (Byte This!, online predictions, et cetera)

-So what do you, the fans think? Does he deserve the HOF or not?

 

[wrestler36]

No. This would be like a pity vote into the HOF. I'm not trying to sound insensitive to his injury, but the Hall of Fame is based on the person's body of work throughout his/her wrestling career (exception being celebrities). He showed some promise both as a singles and tag team wrestler, but his body of work was cut short with the injury. I may be mistaken, but I think the WWE has kept him on as an employee, or at least covering all of his medical expenses. But like I said, it is very unfortunate about his injury, but making him a HOFer would just be a pity vote for him. He deserves recognition for his recovery and persistence, but not this way.

 

[Ol'Canucklehead]

Personally I think it would come off as charity. He hasn't really done enough for the sport to receive one otherwise. Also, there have been other wrestlers who have went through similar injuries but were lesser known. Does that mean Drozs one year on tv makes the difference? My vote is neh.

 

[thebarber]

definitely not. Yes he broke his neck in a WWE ring, but he has an ordinary run with a couple of gimmicks. Droz wouldnt have been a huge star, he was mid card at best. Sure I feel bad for him, but nearly 15 years on, MOVE ON.

 

[Jmeeks]

Since Carey was inducted I wouldn't have a problem with droz being inducted, did lose alot for a short time in the bussiness. Come on how many joke HOF inductees has wwe had.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

I'll make it short..

Droz had no accomplishments, unfortunately only wrestled 2 years, realistically, he doesn't belong in he WWE HOF..

However, they got celebs Pete Rose and even Drew Carey who competed in the 2001 Rumble match.. I think those 2 celebs made more of an impact in the 'E' than Droz did..

Me personally, I don't think he'll ever be in the main event, maybe harsh words, but I think Benoit will get inducted before him.

 

[vampirek]

Since Carey was inducted I wouldn't have a problem with droz being inducted, did lose alot for a short time in the bussiness. Come on how many joke HOF inductees has wwe had.

O for the love of things, why won't people learn that the Celebrities are inducted into the Celebrity Wing of the Hall of Fame. Whilst yes its under the banner, the two wings are separate. Carey was inducted due to many factors, including being the first celebrity in the Royal Rumble, promoting the company and well it makes headlines too.

As for Droz, its a simple no. Granted he was injured in the ring and never has come out and be a bitter about it, he didn't do anything in his wrestling career. He might get it in years to come for dedication working backstage but we have yet to see many inductions for that yet, you don't see the likes of Kevin Dunn or any long term referees in the HOF (although Teddy Long is bound to break that barrier). Entering him, as mentioned could be viewed as a pity vote and in fact do the reversal of the point of inducting the likes of Carey by causing negative press on WWE needless.

 

[Best in the World 79]

Just because we lets b list celebrities into its hall of fame doesn't mean that we can just start putting guys in there for whatever reason. If Owen Hart isn't in the hall of fame, then any type of fucked up situation that led to a career ending takes a back seat.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

The only argument you could make for it would be that Koko B Ware is in, and Droz wrestled during WWE's biggest boom period. Honestly though, I was a fan of Droz's at the time he was an active wrestler (still have fond memories of getting his action figure!) BUT…that said, if you let him in, than you have to start letting virtually anyone thats ever wrestled for WWE in. In my mind a HOF is for people who have accomplishments of large merit. Granted it is unfair to Droz that we may never know what heights he could've reached, but you don't let someone in based on possibility and potential, you let them in on accomplishments, and unfortunately he doesn't even come close to having enough to deserve it outside of a pity vote.

 

[ImTrending2]

No, Droz never accomplished anything in the ring that was remotely close to warranting a HOF mention. There are plenty of other talents that haven't been inducted yet (Owen Hart) who are much more worthy.

I think it's funny that anyone would even consider this a possibility.

 

[DetectiveZelix]

Nope Droz didn't do shit of note. Puke was shit too, Vince was a damn fool to hire someone based on that "inhuman" ability...just stupid. Droz goes in the box with Meat, Blue Meanie, D'lo brown "Ironic", and other clowns like that. No HoF. No honor, no mention. Don't care if he was permanently injured..so were many others, doesn't give you a pass. This would be like putting Chavito in the HoF cus he was a second gen wrestler related to E.G.

 

[The Perfect Max]

The WWE has been ridiculed in the past for some of the guys they put in the Hall of Fame, and this would be furthering it. This would be so wrong to do. This sounds heartless, but how can his induction be justified? What did he do? He threw up on his own accord, and that's it. He was a good wrestler, but that didn't amount to much.

His accident and injury is terrible. The fact he is so accepting of it and doesn't blame anyone is commendable, a true man right there. But you can't give the Hall of Fame honour for that reason alone. He needed to contribute to the WWE in someway, and he didn't. Having said that, apparently Koko B. Ware contributed to the WWE way back when. Yeah, still waiting to remember that one.

All in all, the use of "deserve" may be a bit touchy, but truthfully he doesn't deserve the award. If he hasn't had it now, he'll never get it.

 

[Danger Burger]

The Hall of Fame is full of people we complain about, so lets add more under-deserving people. That will fix everything. If Koko B Ware is in there, then Droz definitely gets to go in there. And hey, if Droz is in why not Salvatore Sincere!

Getting injured is no great legacy. End of. And this comes from a gut who picked Droz as the first wrestling action figure he ever bought. (with bone-cracking sound effects, to add insult to injury.)

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The general integrity of the WWE Hall of Fame has enough issues, primarily the inclusion of the so called "Celebrity Wing." One thing it doesn't need is to become an institution in which people are inducted due to some manner of affirmative action or pity. If you're a pro wrestler who hasn't made an indelible mark in the history of pro wrestling and hasn't been a star of any significance, then you shouldn't be inducted.

What happened to Darren Drozdov is a real shame, and Drozdov's situation is a perfect example of how physically dangerous pro wrestling is and can be. I admire the way he's conducted himself in the years following the accident. Something terrible happened to him and he accepted it rather than playing the "whoa is me" card or pointing fingers at others. It shows a ton of character that he's adapted the way he has and how he's lived his life since. While it was a major screw up on the part of D'Lo Brown that paralyzed Drozdov, it's a major screw up that could have happened with even the most skilled in-ring worker. A lot of people focus only on the choreographed nature of pro wrestling without acknowledging the fact that pro wrestlers are tempting fate each time they lace up their boots to step into the ring.

But, with that being said, I think that you can really say that if Darren Drozdov deserves induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, then pretty much everyone really does belong. Trying your best and doing your best are admirable traits, but they don't mean that you've had a hall of fame career. A hall of fame sounds exclusive because it's supposed to be; it's supposed to be for those special individuals who've stood out from the pack over the years, have bettered the industry by being a part of it and have made significant contributions to the growth and/or enjoyment of pro wrestling. As always, you're going to have some people inducted that some fans don't believe should be there. However, I think a lot of fans tend to overlook the fact that you don't have to have been a main eventer to have had a great career. All of us at some point, myself included, have devalued the role of a mid-carder as something that's trivial and that you're nothing if you're not a main event guy. When we label someone as being strictly mid-carder, we tend to say it as if the wrestler has some variant of The Plague or something. That's not at all accurate or true because you can be of a benefit to the business by being a mid-card and/or tag team wrestler and have an extremely rewarding & successful career. Darren Drozdoz was a mid-carder but he didn't make any sort of lasting impact during his career. He didn't win any titles, didn't have any memorable feuds or matches. Not everybody can be an all time great and all the political correctness or pity in the world can't change that. The moment we allow it to do so renders any sort of special achievement or accomplishment as mostly shallow & meaningless.

 

[closet_fan]

As someone with a disability and in a wheelchair, I absolutely hate this idea. Some people in my situation love pity and would gladly take it. Myself, I want to earn everything I receive and achieve. That being said, I am sure Droz would feel the same way. He hadn't done anything in the ring that would warrant a HOF induction. And I am sure he wouldn't want one. The guy's career ended on a botched move.

Just because he is paralyzed doesn't means he deserves an induction. If I were him, I'd be appalled if HHH even came to me and asked.

HUGE NO for me. If he had accomplished a lot beforehand, then yes. But all he was known for was being able to puke on command.

 

[bxbigshow]

The only argument you could make for it would be that Koko B Ware is in, and Droz wrestled during WWE's biggest boom period. Honestly though, I was a fan of Droz's at the time he was an active wrestler (still have fond memories of getting his action figure!) BUT…that said, if you let him in, than you have to start letting virtually anyone thats ever wrestled for WWE in. In my mind a HOF is for people who have accomplishments of large merit. Granted it is unfair to Droz that we may never know what heights he could've reached, but you don't let someone in based on possibility and potential, you let them in on accomplishments, and unfortunately he doesn't even come close to having enough to deserve it outside of a pity vote.

I agree Koko B. Ware is the floor we now have to use to make these decisions. If not for Koko...then it would be a flat "No". But with him in there can be arguments for Droz's induction.

I still say no, only because he didn't accomplish anything while in service. With that then Duke Drosee and Hakushi should get in. Just because you wrestled in WWF/E doesn't give you an automatic pass.

I think 'fringe' guys (Droz/Drosee/B Ware) need at least a title for entry. I know Jake Roberts doesn't have one but his impact was bigger. I think WWF would've been fine without the fringe guys mentioned. Jake would be different.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

You can't compare Droz and Koko at all, like it or not Koko DID play a part in that early WWE Multimedia explosion, on the album etc but people also forget he was a big draw in Memphis before his WWE days, even headlining against Ric Flair. He sang on the album which will be why he got in, he did Vince a favor back in the day... he also got shit on quite badly (the story is in Bret's book) by Vince's then number 2 with a racism incident... so Koko perhaps DID get in there on pity a tiny bit, once thing you can say for Vince is that if you are unintentionally but genuinely wronged, by him or his organisation he tends to try and make it up... He did it for Koko, Droz, Marty Jannetty, Davey Boy and a slew of others...

Putting Droz into this category is dangerous especially the HOF... At the fringes, you could say he deserves to go in, perhaps even for his post-ring work... but WWE don't put other crippled wrestlers in there... They don't wheel out Dynamite for example, sure they're worried what he'd say but he's had equally tough times to Droz in many ways... They don't wheel out Lex Luger, more cos they don't want "You killed Liz" chant's which idiots would inevitably do... but putting Droz back in the spotlight after all these years would show the WWE in a worse light than inducting all the dead wrestlers in one class would... It would seem exploitative and even if Droz had done more (and he would have done more, Euro title at least) then it would still seem wrong. The other wrestlers getting awards or in the crowd would naturally be uncomfortable. Many of them talk fondly of guys like Droz, but don't go and see them, it reminds them and there's almost a fear the bad luck can pass... Bret's book also alludes to this when some of the guys went to see Dynamite at his home back in 92.

Pity for Droz is natural but wrong. He knew what he was getting into an as every worker does rolled the dice every night. It's sad that it went wrong for him and equally so on D.Lo who had a VERY promising and definite HOF worthy career going before the incident. But he's not gonna be inducted either.

So no, Darren Drozdov does not deserve, need or likely want to be in the Hall of Fame.

 

[JohnJohnson]

The fact that the OP had to explain who Droz is presents enough argument alone that he should not be inducted into the Hall of FAME. Not only would it not make sense logically because of the fact that he was a midcarder with a 2 year career, but i would almost be an insult to him. I would personally be offended if I was given a pity HOF induction. As someone also mentioned, Droz was a rookie who was paralyzed, while Owen Hart was a veteran who died in the ring. Clearly Owen goes in first. Why the hell do we even have this thread?

 

[Slash-LN]

No
And honestly I don't think anyone should feel guilty for saying it.

Outside the throwing up stuff and the angle with Hawk and Animal I can't think of anything off the top of my head that he did that was memorable. Unless you count them mentioning that he would go hunting and if he got a deer he would eat it's heart out of respect and for all I know that could have been just made up.

Getting hurt and not being bitter about it isn't a reason to be put into a Hall of Fame.

Yeah it sucks that the dude got paralyzed. Even with him knowing the risk and everything it still sucks. But being in the Hall of Fame for that?