Is Anyone From ECW Hall of Fame Worthy?

[BigBombB]

I realize there is a lot of room for interpretation here.

It can be argued that Steve Austin's run as Stone Cold was based off his character in ECW and he definitely went THROUGH ECW though was already well known from his Hollywood Blond run in WCW so there is a definite grey area. Then there is someone like Rey Mysterio who started in ECW, was only there for a short time, may never have been discovered by a top two promotion without ECW, but is basically wholly known for his time in WCW. What about Terry Funk, who already had a Hall of Fame career well before his time in ECW but was an integral part to the rise of the company, are we counting him as an ECW guy? And to this I answer: I leave that up to your own interpretation.

The real question here is: Does time in ECW count? Should it count? Should it count in some instances and not in others?

Rob Van Dam: Former WWE World Champion, no small feat, but otherwise a midcarder and mainly known for his Television title run in ECW. Has been a top draw for a long time but big enough to warrant the Hall of Fame?

Raven: A legend by ECW standards, a beast in WCW's midcard with his Flock until he met the glass ceiling (as so many did), then transitioning into a staple of the Hardcore division in WWE. Will his contributions to wrestling as a whole be honored one day in the Hall of Fame?

Tommy Dreamer: Synonymous with ECW, he carried the flag not only for the original promotion but for the WWE reboot. He is known for little outside of ECW but was often an agent and well respected within the business. But is he respected enough?

Taz: Arguably the top singles star outside of Rob Van Dam to have grown up in ECW, debuting on WWE with a victory over the then undefeated Kurt Angle only to quickly fizzle out. Will his legendary matches in ECW and long commentary career put him among the great Hall?

Tajiri: A long time player in ECW and WWE, with a kicking style that no one has been able to duplicate to an American audience. Does his unique ability, long run, and consistently strong performances warrant a place on the walk of Fame?

Rhino: The last ECW champion, debuting as friends of HoF Edge and likely future HoFer Christian, having the best spear in the business, including the infamous spear on Lita. Is his run worthy of Hall of Fame credentials?

The Dudley Boys: The most decorated tag team in history, winning tag titles everywhere they went and being a staple of the WWE Tag Team renaissance, these guys are definitely going to be in the Hall of Fame...right?

Sabu: Outside of ECW he was never much, but within ECW he was the equivalent of a Sting or Undertaker, being part of some of the biggest angles in ECW history. Will his time at the top of the rebellious organization, infamous toughness, and daredevil style land him in the Hall of Fame among the other greats of his family?

If there is anyone else you think is worthy of discussion, go ahead and bring them up!

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

Sure there is one guy from ECW that his time there will be remembered and should be a HOFer and that's Paul Heyman. He's a true hall of famer and I hope he gets into the WZ HOF. The rest of these guys for the most part, hell no. I was a big ECW fan back in the day but none of them ever garnered the kind of respect that others did. It is interesting you didn't mention the most dominate champion in ECW history in Shane Douglas on here. Of all the guys you've said, he's probably the closest and he really isn't close at all.

 

[Doctor Awesome]

By the standards of WWE's HOF and the fact that they essentially own ECW, sure there are plenty of guys who could make the hall. Paul Heyman should absolutely be the first. Others that should/could get there based on their contributions to the industry would be:

RVD-Grossly popular nearly his entire career. Multiple championships to his credit and brought about one of the most unique movesets/styles ever. Sure, it's tired now but there was a time when it kept you on the edge of your seat.

Tommy Dreamer- Largely for being the flag bearer and an inspirational leader. He is well-liked within the company and could easily come back in a backstage role, pushing him into the HOF.

The Dudleys- Say what you want but they truly are the most decorated tag team ever.

Taz- His career in WWE as a competitor was definitely cut short (no pun intended) but he was ECW's big fight guy.

Shane Douglas- Likely will never, ever happen but let's face it, if it weren't for his promo and throwing the NWA belt down ECW would not have launched as it did. A huge moment in the history of the sport.

Raven- Another highly unlikely but he was another big time player in ECW and had a good WCW and decent WWE run following. There's that whole lawsuit thing and...yeah...he's not going in. But should.

 

[Anti-IWC-Marks]

With McMahon's ego running amok, and the culture being established that any Shane, Steph, HHH, or whomever will certainly do the same... I don't think any ECW will ever see the Hall of Fame.

I mean, McMahon pissed away probably a billion dollars just so he could jack off onto WCW's dead carcus during the botched Invasion angle.

That's the type of ego you're dealing with. Don't expect some honest view of history here.

 

[Alex]

From a neutral standpoint there's only a few.

Rob Van Dam- Best original ECW wrestler. There's a reason he stuck around the longest when ECW died and some of the talent came to WWE. He could actually wrestle and had an exciting style and had great feuds throughout his original run.

Raven- Basically what most people wish they were on the mic. While not the greatest technical wrestler, he sold you on his feuds with promos. Similar to Bray Wyatt in the sense that their mic skills far outstrip their in-ring ability but because of the mic skills you wanted to see what they'd do next. Would the feud with Sandman been as good if Raven wasn't so great on the mic. You can see his influence on Wyatt and Ambrose today.

Dudley Boys- It can be argued that they are the greatest tag team in history. They've held pretty much every major tag team title in American wrestling minus ROH's (if you want to say they're major) they've even held the IWGP tag titles in Japan. They're what a tag team should be working as one.

Tazz- He was great as a technical wrestler and was certainly refreshing in ECW where most people would just hit each other with sticks. He certainly would've had a good WWE career if injuries hadn't forced him to retire.

And of course we can't forget Paul Heyman. Any person with the charisma of Heyman who can turn a regional promotion into a cult hit across the world that even over ten years after it's demise is still being talked about certainly deserves a Hall Of Fame mention. And I'm not mentioning the things he's done in WWE.

 

[Alex]

Naitch reminded me that Sabu also is Hall Of Fame worthy.

Sure you can say that he botched a lot and most of his matches involved weapons but honestly his athletic ring style can be seen in many wrestlers today such as Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn and several others. I highly doubt that these wrestlers would have the style they do if Sabu hadn't done it first.

Also his attitude of 'I'll hurt myself to hurt my opponent' is certainly something that got the audience on his side for the 'holy shit' moments that again wrestlers today do (again look at Seth Rollins)

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Definite: Rob Van Dam, The Dudley Boyz & Paul Heyman

Maybe: Taz, Raven & Sabu

RVD is one of the few singles wrestlers to come out of ECW and make it big. He's quite possibly the one wrestler most associated with ECW and is among the first names to spring to mind.

The Dudley Boys are the most decorated tag team in wrestling history and have held almost every major tag team championship in pro wrestling over the last 30 years at least once.

Paul Heyman was a colorful character before ECW as Paul E. Dangerously and he continues to be a colorful character. He gave and continues to give some of the best promos in wrestling and some flat out hail him as a creative genius.

As for Taz, beyond his time in ECW, he didn't really have much of an opportunity to do too much after ECW folded. He had a few runs as WWE Hardcore Champion and a run with Spike Dudley as WWE Tag Team Champion, but nothing memorable. I'd lean more towards yes, however, because he's been a well known fixture as a commentator for well over a decade, so couple that with his time and accomplishments in ECW, he'll probably make the cut.

Raven's character is ultimately what drew some people to him. I could take him or leave him, but he was a unique presence during that time. I'd probably lean more towards yes for him as well as he's one of the few who had some degree of relevance in WCW & WWE.

Sabu is somebody I'm just not a huge fan of. Take him out of brutal hardcore matches and it's like taking a fish out of water. But, he's also one of the small handfuls of guys in from ECW to make an impact. He definitely qualifies as a "hardcore legend" because hardcore matches are ultimately what made him. I'm also leaning towards yes, though not as much as I did for Taz & Raven.

Two guys I didn't put in either category who're probably as heavily associated with ECW as almost anyone are Tommy Dreamer & Shane Douglas.

I think Dreamer is highly overrated and is somebody who was elevated because of ECW's cult following to a level of greatness he never came close to approaching. So he was a "hardcore" wrestler, so was 99% of the rest of the ECW roster. To this day, whenever Dreamer cuts a promo, all he can do is talk about stuff that happened in ECW. I won't throw a fit or anything if he's ever put into the HOF, but I just don't see it.

As for Shane Douglas, I think he's probably the embodiment of wrestlers who're marks for themselves. Wherever Douglas worked, whether it was WWF, WCW, TNA, etc. he ALWAYS blames everyone else for why he wasn't a bigger star. A lot of wrestlers have such stories, but so very, very few of them have so many stories from so many different major wrestling companies. It seems like Douglas' attitude was the problem, or at least one of the biggest problems. To listen to some of his rants, you'd have thought Vince was supposed to bow down before him, Dixie to spread her legs for him, Ted Turner to pay him just for gracing his company with his presence and Ric Flair to fluff him whenever he snapped his fingers. A few years back, he was at an episode of Raw promoting the Extreme Reunion event he was headlining, only he was out among the crowd handing out fliers, until he was escorted out by security. I don't see him ever being in the WWE Hall of Fame.

 

[IvotedforKodos]

Excluding perhaps Randy Savage, Vince has been remarkable about who he'll do business with (hiring Eric Bischoff and enshrining people in the Hall that have HUGE beefs with him--most recently bringing Warrior back into the fold). Never say never.
Back to the main question, are some of the original guys in ECW hall of fame worthy? Absolutely. The ECW originals who got that victory at WrestleMania 23 (RVD, Sabu, Dreamer, and maybe, Sandman) certainly have been involved and contributed more to industry than some of the wrestling inductees (insert obligatory Koke B Ware reference here). The Dudleys and RVD should almost be sure things.
With the WWE talking about putting singular matches in, I could possibly see the WHOLE company being inducted and that way everyone could collectively participate. (Joey Styles in my opinion was one of the best announcers ever) Like it or hate it, these guys have their fans--and these guys made their mark. They deserve it.
Now I'm going to go listen to my copy of "Piledriver."

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I think there are definitely ECW guys worthy of entry into the Hall of Fame, but then again would you really class RVD and The Dudleyz as "ECW guys" now, after all the success they have had in WWE?

Both Van Dam and The Dudley Boyz are definite Hall of Famers in my (and most people's) opinions. RVD is a former WWE Champion, ECW Champion, multi-time Intercontinental, Tag Team and Hardcore Champion plus in ECW he held the Television Title for almost 2 whole years, becoming the most popular wrestler in the company. He's been incredibly popular with fans in WWE ever since he debuted during the Invasion period, and should have been given the WWE title way before he did get it.

As for the Dudleyz...they are the most successful tag team in history. Multi-time ECW, WWE tag team champions, they even held the WCW tag team titles too (during the Invasion) and were part of the legendary triangle ladder, and TLC matches with The Hardyz and Edge & Christian. For everything they did for Tag Team wrestling, the Dudley Boyz are sure-fire HOFers.

You can't talk about ECW Hall of Fame entries without mentioning Paul Heyman. Wrestling's evil genius will definitely go into the HOF when he retires, there is no question about that. Heyman's baby and it sparked a revolution in wrestling. It was Heyman who brought Lucha Libre to the USA, gave wrestlers like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Chris Jericho their big breaks, gave Steve Austin the chance to resurrect his career and gave us the likes of Rob Van Dam, Taz, Raven, Sabu and many, many more.

As well as his ECW days, Heyman has been the best manager of the past decade in WWE in his association with Brock Lesnar, and was a great commentator too aorund the turn of the century. He certainly deserves induction into the HOF.

I would also give a HOF induction to Sabu- a major innovator in wrestling, and an ECW icon. If hardcore wrestlers like Abdullah The Butcher and The Shiek can go into the Hall of Fame, then there is no reason why Sabu shouldn't, he certainly deserves it.

Raven is another pick I would induct (although as a huge fan of his, I am a bit biased). His creativity and persona was so far ahead of it's time and you can see his influence on the likes of Dean Ambrose today. His involvement in classic angles like his feud with Tommy Dreamer, and brainwashing the Sandman's family are legendary. However, after sueing the WWE fairly recently I dount we'll see Raven going in.

I'd induct Taz as well. He was THE MAN in ECW, and one of the biggest home grown talents they ever produced. It's a shame his in-ring career in WWE was cut short due to neck problems, as Taz was fantastic in the ring- I loved watching his work. With his later career as a commentator, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Taz inducted at some point, but obviously this would only happen after he stopped working for TNA.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The first one who comes to mind is Bam Bam Bigelow, he was a major part of ECW indeed the first "big name" to head there... add to that he headlined a Wrestlemania and you have a definite entry.

RVD yes, Dudz, not for a long time... Bully is building something with TNA and it won't be endearing him to Vince. Taz is possible but someways down the line.

Raven and Dreamer are doubtful as they never got over enough in the WWE to make it work. One leftfield guy from ECW who could have gone in but now probably won't is Perry Saturn but the main guy from ECW who stands out and is perhaps "guaranteed" a slot is...

Chris Candido... He was a major part of ECW without being "the top guy" and he was a well loved member of the WWF roster as well. His tragic end only makes it sadder, he's the kind of guy who would have been back for the ECW reunion/revival and could have been in the kind of role Dustin Rhodes is now, an elder statesman type wrestler. Yes it means wheeling Tammy out again but give her the rules and she won't screw it up cos it'll mean a lot to her... Warrior made his point last year about "the little guy" and Chris was arguably the "little guy" for much of his career, but he rose above it and was a memorable part of both ECW and the WWF... there are far worse picks they can go with.

Al Snow is the other good candidate as he was the guy Vince sent to ECW to come up with something and he came back with one of the Attitude Era's first and most memorable gimmicks... he was a big part of Tough Enough and has a strong rep for training a lot of their guys... but again he is working for TNA right now so it delays it...

Heyman is a lock of course... it's not if, but when... hell give it to him this year if Brock is headlining Mania, it can only make him more obnoxious/better on the night and Brock's inevitable turn on him after losing more impactful.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

The first one who comes to mind is Bam Bam Bigelow, he was a major part of ECW indeed the first "big name" to head there... add to that he headlined a Wrestlemania and you have a definite entry.

Great shout on Bam Bam. I agree he is a very likely inductee at some point, I totally forgot about him headlining a WrestleMania while I was making my post. Bigelow joining ECW was a big deal, and he had alot of very good matches down there before returning to WCW.

Bam Bam was so athletic for a big man, I'd like to have seen him back in WWE at some point, but unfortunately we never got to see it. Yet another talented guy taken too soon. He'll be a very welcome addition to a HOF class sometime. He won't be a headlining the class, but definitely deserves his induction.

 

[Skuzzy]

RVD, Tommy Dreamer, Paul Heyman, The Dudleyz and maybe even Sandman should be locks for the Hall of Fame. They are usually the first people you think of when you hear ECW.

Below them would be Raven, Stevie Richards and the BWO maybe, Al Snow, 2 Cold Scorpio maybe and Shane Douglas.

Also, wrestlers like Bam Bam, Jericho, Mysterio, Malenko, Tajiri, and others would be inducted for their WWF/E and WCW careers.

We can safely say New Jack aint gonna ever be in one, and maybe neither is Mike Awesome

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The problem they have is that they can't induct them ALL... so only the true greats... I've not actually seen the most obvious guys on any posts and was remiss myself not to mention...Sabu and to a lesser extent Shane Douglas.

Sabu was the real "heart" of ECW, he was the guy that made people go "WTF?" and want to watch. If RVD goes in Sabu has to, as his uncle is already in there it would be quite fitting too. When ECW invaded it was Sabu on the titantron pointing to the moon that was the "Holy Shit..this is REAL! ECW IS HERE!" moment.

Douglas is an interesting case... he is the guy who kickstarted ECW, no Shane no ECW... his shitcanning the NWA title and renaming it the ECW title was a political move, but without it ECW never survives the week... it generated enough buzz with his now abrasive "Franchise" persona, that was so at odds with the vanilla face both WWF and WCW had presented that it got people interested in the promotion, it made people watch.

His WWF/E career is going to be the issue. Quite a few people will remember Shane as being in the WWF in 1990-1991, he was in line for a VERY big push as a "rockstar/teen idol" known as... yup... The Heartbreak Kid. Now what happened next is the stuff of trivia/forum debates/rumors/gossip but the gist of it was that Shane told Vince that his father was terminally ill and that he wanted to go back to Medical School rather than continue his in ring career. So Vince reluctantly let him out of his deal.

Of course Shane popped up in WCW barely a year later, Shawn Michaels became HBK and the rest was history.

Shane came back as "Dean Douglas" in 1995 and of course was not popular with Vince or Shawn, Vince for the blatant lies to get out of his deal and Shawn because he knew that Shane was the first pick... had he not done what he had done, he would not be "the showstopper" and have the power, money etc that he did.

So Shane got literally hounded out, bad gimmick, bad push and burial... he got the IC title for seconds before he had to humiliatingly drop it to Shawn's kliq buddy... Not saying Shawn deliberately got beaten up by Marines to avoid jobbing to Douglas cos, well no way was Shawn EVER jobbing to Douglas in a million years.

Shane's behaviors since have been erratic, his WCW reign was meh, he's tried promoting, been outspoken at times but in general kept an uneasy silence. He COULD and arguably SHOULD go into the Hall of Fame as his career as a whole is easily more important to the history of the business as a Koko B. Ware, Baron Mikel Scicluna, Tony Atlas or even guys considered "locks" like JBL or Rick Martel.

If Bruno and Warrior could, then Shane has hope but not before Savage... if he goes in, with Lanny there then it's proof that no beef with Vince will stop you going in, I can actually see Hunter being the one to broker it as he was part of that bullying back then... He could look now and know Shawn was a scumbag then and he coulda woulda shoulda perhaps not taken part in the crap if he had the overview of a company he now has...

 

[roipdh123]

Well there is a list of guys who made impact at both ECW and WWE and should get into the hall of fame.My list will include:
The Dudley Boyz
Paul Heyman
Rob Van Dam
Tommy Dreamer
The Sandman
Bam Bam Bigelow.

Also there are the guys who made their big impact at the WWE who are the likes of Jericho & Mysterio etc.

 

[Anti-IWC-Marks]

The problem they have is that they can't induct them ALL... so only the true greats... I've not actually seen the most obvious guys on any posts and was remiss myself not to mention...Sabu and to a lesser extent Shane Douglas.

Sabu was the real "heart" of ECW, he was the guy that made people go "WTF?" and want to watch. If RVD goes in Sabu has to, as his uncle is already in there it would be quite fitting too. When ECW invaded it was Sabu on the titantron pointing to the moon that was the "Holy Shit..this is REAL! ECW IS HERE!" moment.

Douglas is an interesting case... he is the guy who kickstarted ECW, no Shane no ECW... his shitcanning the NWA title and renaming it the ECW title was a political move, but without it ECW never survives the week... it generated enough buzz with his now abrasive "Franchise" persona, that was so at odds with the vanilla face both WWF and WCW had presented that it got people interested in the promotion, it made people watch.

His WWF/E career is going to be the issue. Quite a few people will remember Shane as being in the WWF in 1990-1991, he was in line for a VERY big push as a "rockstar/teen idol" known as... yup... The Heartbreak Kid. Now what happened next is the stuff of trivia/forum debates/rumors/gossip but the gist of it was that Shane told Vince that his father was terminally ill and that he wanted to go back to Medical School rather than continue his in ring career. So Vince reluctantly let him out of his deal.

Of course Shane popped up in WCW barely a year later, Shawn Michaels became HBK and the rest was history.

Shane came back as "Dean Douglas" in 1995 and of course was not popular with Vince or Shawn, Vince for the blatant lies to get out of his deal and Shawn because he knew that Shane was the first pick... had he not done what he had done, he would not be "the showstopper" and have the power, money etc that he did.

So Shane got literally hounded out, bad gimmick, bad push and burial... he got the IC title for seconds before he had to humiliatingly drop it to Shawn's kliq buddy... Not saying Shawn deliberately got beaten up by Marines to avoid jobbing to Douglas cos, well no way was Shawn EVER jobbing to Douglas in a million years.

Shane's behaviors since have been erratic, his WCW reign was meh, he's tried promoting, been outspoken at times but in general kept an uneasy silence. He COULD and arguably SHOULD go into the Hall of Fame as his career as a whole is easily more important to the history of the business as a Koko B. Ware, Baron Mikel Scicluna, Tony Atlas or even guys considered "locks" like JBL or Rick Martel.

If Bruno and Warrior could, then Shane has hope but not before Savage... if he goes in, with Lanny there then it's proof that no beef with Vince will stop you going in, I can actually see Hunter being the one to broker it as he was part of that bullying back then... He could look now and know Shawn was a scumbag then and he coulda woulda shoulda perhaps not taken part in the crap if he had the overview of a company he now has...

Very well written about Douglas's WWF runs.

Shawn Michaels certainly did a hit job on Douglas, the same with Chris Candido. So many people in the business have outed Shawn as being such a big cancer in the locker room, but for some reason being Vince's favorite, and thus, had ultimate power. I saw Bam Bam Bigelow's shoot interview, and he saw the writing on the wall after his WM match with LT. I guess Michaels and others of the clique were giving him lots of crap because Bigelow's match was getting tons more hype. Bigelow suspected he was next, and left. Michaels also bullied and threatened Vader's job.. Michaels was easily the biggest dick in wrestling history.

 

[PsychoBlack]

RVD and the Dudley's will get in off of their WWE work alone. The only one that I feel is worthy strictly off of their ECW work would be Raven

Raven's character was so fresh and different and everything about the character was so sympathetic, but his actions made you feel like he deserved everything he spoke about in his promos. His matches weren't exactly anything to jump at, but, you have to look at who he was facing. Their is only so much anyone can do with Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman. Bottom line is Raven may have been the top heel in the world in 1995 and if he was in any other promotion at the time he's a sure fire pick for any HOF. He's a shoe in for the TNA hall though

 

[Bagpipes]

I think it's far more likely for guys who crossed over and got over in WWE to get into the HOF than guys who were ECW lifers and/or didn't do much in WWE.

Definitley RVD, Dreamer, Dudleyz, Tazz and Heyman are all well deserving of a spot in the Hall and seem to have the right formula for getting in.

 

[WBL]

Forget about everything he did before then. Just for how willing he was to help put over the new guys and how hard of a work he was to help keep ECW going, Terry Funk deserves a hall of fame spot.

 

[BigBombB]

After all this discussion, I think I've come to one conclusion. If Taz manages to go into the Hall of Fame, it would HAVE to include his time in ECW. Yes, he did a great job when he first joined but his singles run was short and his tag team with Spike Dudley was forgettable. He is well known as an announcer but did he really do a good enough job to deserve the Hall of Fame? Couple all of that with his huge title run in ECW, however, and suddenly there is a good chance he can get those honors.

But that isn't the conclusion. The conclusion is that Taz making it into the Hall of Fame is the ONLY way a guy like Raven could expect to get in too. As much as Raven was arguably the bigger star in ECW and Raven's WCW run was better than Taz's WWE run, under the WWE umbrella he was a jobber. He did nothing of any relevance in WWE other than wear a skirt and have a few entertaining hardcore matches. I think Raven easily deserves to be in the Hall of Fame but there is a lot going against him.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Rob Van Dam: Former WWE World Champion, no small feat, but otherwise a midcarder and mainly known for his Television title run in ECW. Has been a top draw for a long time but big enough to warrant the Hall of Fame?

Yes. Regularly had solid matches in the old ECW, one of the guys who legitimized Money in the Bank, a WWE mainstay for years. He should be a Hall of Famer.

Raven: A legend by ECW standards, a beast in WCW's midcard with his Flock until he met the glass ceiling (as so many did), then transitioning into a staple of the Hardcore division in WWE. Will his contributions to wrestling as a whole be honored one day in the Hall of Fame?

Upper echelon guy, but no. Never had that big of an individual impact. He'll go down as one of the great workers of all time, and one of the best promo guys, but he's never really been "the guy" in a major impact way.

Tommy Dreamer: Synonymous with ECW, he carried the flag not only for the original promotion but for the WWE reboot. He is known for little outside of ECW but was often an agent and well respected within the business. But is he respected enough?

Taz: Arguably the top singles star outside of Rob Van Dam to have grown up in ECW, debuting on WWE with a victory over the then undefeated Kurt Angle only to quickly fizzle out. Will his legendary matches in ECW and long commentary career put him among the great Hall?

Tajiri: A long time player in ECW and WWE, with a kicking style that no one has been able to duplicate to an American audience. Does his unique ability, long run, and consistently strong performances warrant a place on the walk of Fame?

Rhino: The last ECW champion, debuting as friends of HoF Edge and likely future HoFer Christian, having the best spear in the business, including the infamous spear on Lita. Is his run worthy of Hall of Fame credentials?

Sabu: Outside of ECW he was never much, but within ECW he was the equivalent of a Sting or Undertaker, being part of some of the biggest angles in ECW history. Will his time at the top of the rebellious organization, infamous toughness, and daredevil style land him in the Hall of Fame among the other greats of his family?

All no. As Skip Bayless says, "it's not the Hall of Very Good." I wouldn't put the WWE or WCW equivalents of these guys in, thus these guys don't go in.

The Dudley Boys: The most decorated tag team in history, winning tag titles everywhere they went and being a staple of the WWE Tag Team renaissance, these guys are definitely going to be in the Hall of Fame...right?

Yes. One of the great tag teams of all time. I was surprised TNA split them so effectively. WWE tried to with the brand split and it failed miserably. These guys were the quintessential Attitude Era team and along with the Hardyz and Edge & Christian, created the high spot crazes that are TLC matches. Hugely influential.

 

[FromGlasgow]

I agree with most names on here others have said, My top 6 is
1, Paul Heyman I believe he will go in at some point
2, Sabu he would be my top pick to go in as his moves felt so innovative back in the day
3, The Dudley Boys I think they will go in at some point held more tag title than anyone
4, Rob Van Dam was arguably the biggest name homegrown out of ECW
5, Tommy Dreamer When I think of ECW I mainly think of him
6, Tazz I think he will be the least likely out of my picks to go in.

 

[Boring]

Rob Van Dam and The Dudley Boyz and I only say that based on who else has been inducted to the Hall. Van Dam was probably the most popular member of the Alliance as well as defeated Cena for the title and the Dudley Boyz made tag team wrestling and putting old women through tables interesting.

 

[Darkshadow1234]

My picks: rvd, taz, dudleys, terry funk, sabu, dreamer and shane douglas.
And the eliminators and too cold Scorpio. Sandman
Bam Bam too.

Oh I forget Mickey Whipwreck.

Those are my picks

They all made contributions in ECW

I love and miss ecw.

Best wrestling organization in my eyes.
Good wrestling, hardcore matches, cruiserweight and hot women.
Better than wwe.

I hate when people badmouth ECW.
Seems like alot of people bash things just to bash them. Bc it isn't wwe.
ECW will always be one of the greatest wrestling companies.
Hate that it was cut short.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

Well, Rob Van Dam, The Dudley Boyz and Paul Heyman are shoe-ins for the WWE Hall of Fame, but that is mostly for their work in WWF/E than for their time in ECW.

I think time in ECW can count, but it needs to be coupled with what they did in WWF/E. For example, I really don't think guys like Taz, Rhino, Tajiri did enough outside of ECW to warrant a Hall of Fame nomination. Other guys like Shane Douglas, Justin Credible and Sandman don't stand a chance despite being popular in ECW.

So this brings us to Raven.

I'm obviously biased here, but he is a very interesting case. Arguably one of the best wrestling minds in the business, one of the smartest workers, held down because of attitude and drug problems and his medium size. He had two stints in WWF, as well as a WCW run in addition to his most famous work in ECW. Is he WWE Hall of Fame worthy?

I'd argue yes, because he is the leader in WWF Hardcore Championship reigns with 27 (even though it's an obviously inflated stat). But I think this run combined with what he did in ECW is enough to at least put him in the conversation. If it ever happened, he'd be a lower level entry no doubt.

I think it will have more to do with 1) his current relationship with Vince/Hunter/Powers That Be as he has burned some bridges and 2) is he clean and reliable enough to be given this opportunity?

 

[HBKistheHOF]

What about New Jack???

...hahaha okay but seriously I can see just about any main event level ECW guy getting into the WWE Hall of Fame eventually, especially guys like Rob Van Dam, Paul Heyman & The Dudleyz which would have a chance at getting in just based solely on their merits & achievements while in WWF/E.

Eventually WWE will start to run out of big names to induct & need to start plucking more names from ECW, WCW, etc. Koko B. Ware is already in the HOF for heavens sake & they've already inducted most of the "important" celebrities so they might just start inducting random RAW Guest Hosts (I'm still hoping they eventually induct Leslie Neilson for his skits leading into Summerslam 1994 about finding the "real" Undertaker, absolute classics!).

So yeah I wouldn't even be surprised if they started inducting some ECW guys within the next couple years.