Something I noticed with the WWE HOF

[MattBrady425]

The WWE HOF is the ultimate way to honor a wrestler's legacy, whether or not they found the majority of their success in the WWE or not.

It seems as is the WWE is always keen to induct legendary sons of legendary wrestlers, bot not their legendary fathers, or induct their fathers in later years, like with Stu Hart (class of 2010.) Stu Hart's accomplishments as a promoter and trainer speak volumes for the man.
Another example is Larry "The Ax" Hennig who found much of his success in AWA and even training his son the legendary "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig.

It's hard to tell who is truly deserving of the induction as the fathers of a lot of these wrestlers found much of their success in wrestling before wrestling was on primetime cable television. Wrestlers who found success back in the territory days and with other organizations like the NWA or even in Japan or Mexico would have had a much more difficult time finding their success due to the lack of exposure from Internet and national television broadcasts.
It was harder on those men than men of today who become world champions by just working their way through the indies and developmental stages.

Like Eddie Guerrero's father, Gory Guerrer had a hall of fame career in Mexico and the US, as well as being the patriarch of the Guerrero wrestling family. However, his son, Eddie was inducted first.

For example,

Mr. Perfect (class of 2007)
Larry "The Ax" Hennig - yet to be inducted

Ted Dibiase, Sr. (class of 2010)
"Iron" Mike Dibiase - yet to be inducted

Eddie Guerrero (class of 2006)
Gory Guerrero - yet to be inducted

Bret Hart (class of 2006)
Stu Hart (class of 2010)

Anyone else notice this trend with the WWE Hall of Fame?

 

[TheICChampion]

No, but now that you mention it, it is a little weird. I guess it's to do with their contributions/accomplishments in WWE.

 

[Messiah]

Those guys you mentioned like Bret Hart and Curt Hennig are way more well known, that's why they were inducted first. They accomplished a lot more in WWE than their fathers and the fans remember them. Eddie, Ted, Curt and Bret are some of the most recognizable names in WWE history, who knows who Mike Dibiase is? Or Larry Hennig? Those guys will go in the same category as Bob Armstrong, or Maurice Vachon. All of them deserve to be in but if they're not a recognizable name it might take a while for them to get in, Stu Hart is an exception, some people might not know how great he was, but almost everybody knows who he is.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Dispite the legitimate legends that are in the Hall of Fame, the Hall itself loses a ton credit with stupid inductions like Swartzenegger and * SIGH * Pete Rose. I wish they would omit these non deserving entrants to give The Hall some credit. I can't take HOF seriously at all with some of these..... Bob Eucker,
Donald Trump , * UGH * Drew Carey , Mike Tyson , Mr . T , Will The Fridge Perry .

 

[The Warlord]

Not really weird at all as the following quote implies

I guess it's to do with their contributions/accomplishments in WWE.

The only thing I would add is that its not just WWE, but wrestling in general. All of the sons the OP mentioned had more of an impact on the business than their fathers.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Those guys you mentioned like Bret Hart and Curt Hennig are way more well known, that's why they were inducted first. They accomplished a lot more in WWE than their fathers and the fans remember them. Eddie, Ted, Curt and Bret are some of the most recognizable names in WWE history, who knows who Mike Dibiase is? Or Larry Hennig? Those guys will go in the same category as Bob Armstrong, or Maurice Vachon. All of them deserve to be in but if they're not a recognizable name it might take a while for them to get in, Stu Hart is an exception, some people might not know how great he was, but almost everybody knows who he is.

Anybody who watched wrestling in the 70s and 80s knows Larry "The Ax" Henning, one of the most brutal and vile rulebreakers in the biz. That said, I don't think he ever won a World Title and while he had a good career Im not sure it was HOF worthy.

Fact is, the HOF for WWE like every other HOF is very subjective. I for example don't think Curt Henning belongs....when I think of the HOF I think of the absolute greatest legends ever and he doesn't make the cut. I liked his heel turn in the AWA and his matches with Nick Bockwinkle were outstanding, in WWE he was mostly a mid carder, his best moments arguably his loss vs Brett Hart at S-Slam and his win on RAW over Ric Flair in the Loser Leaves WWE match. The rest of his time there he was a mid card heel and not a top level world title contender, he got one brief run of matches against Hogan and that was it. In WCW he was superb when he debuted and played a huge role in the NWO - Horsemen feud but after that what did he do, he was off for long periods and when he returned he was used as a jobber and comedy act.

Im not sure every "famous father" deserves enshrinement, a good career shouldn't be rewarded with a HOF Induction....the HOF is already full of guys who had short shelf lives or were only on top for short periods, Scott Hall, Ultimate Warrior, etc.... how many other "Non Legends" have to get in before it is completely watered down.

For me the HOF test is Hogan.....Flair.....Sammartino....the biggest legends, most fantastic careers, of all time.....does Andre compare to them....Yes.....Savage....Yes.....Dusty Rhodes.....Yes.....Curt Henning....I don't think so.....Scott Hall.....No......Brett Hart.....you can make a strong case for him.....Shawn Micheals.....same as Brett.......not everyone lasted that long and made that much of an impact.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Dispite the legitimate legends that are in the Hall of Fame, the Hall itself loses a ton credit with stupid inductions like Swartzenegger and * SIGH * Pete Rose. I wish they would omit these non deserving entrants to give The Hall some credit. I can't take HOF seriously at all with some of these..... Bob Eucker,
Donald Trump , * UGH * Drew Carey , Mike Tyson , Mr . T , Will The Fridge Perry .

The very fact the WWE enters then into what the call the 'celebrity wing' tells you all you need to know: WWE doesn't truly consider the above Hall of Famers, but including celebrities, in a business and especially a company that has had heavy celebrity involvement/endorsement, is essentially a marketing tool to allow excess mainstream coverage.

That said, certain celebrities have every right to be included. Mr T and Cyndi Lauper, for example, arguably helped WWE become what it is today; Lauper helped WWE transition from a regional to a national company just by being there, and Mr T headlined the very first Wrestlemania (and co-headlined the second), which again changed the business.

 

[OldSchoolWrestlingFan]

It's very simple, the "kids" worked for Vince directly & the dads did not or had very little direct involvement with WWF/WWE after Vince (a Jr. Himself) took the helm - I always thought it strange that Vince Sr. wasn't inducted to the HOF until 1996 - about three or so years after it started, to me he should've been #1 because without him there would be no WWE

 

[FromGlasgow]

I agree all those you mention are deserving of the hall of fame but I don't agree its just fathers being left out as theres loads more worthy from their eras being left out like Lou Thesz, Haystacks Calhoun, Dick The Bruiser, The Crusher, Bobo Brazil, Gene Kiniski, Wahoo Mcdaniel, Rikidozan etc, Maybe its due to those guys being from a different era or most of their work being in a different company but don't see it just being exclusive to leaving out fathers of legends.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I understand the concept you're writing about, but looking at the four examples you cited, all the sons found their greatest fame in WWE while the fathers had nothing to do with the company. Yes, the company says they strive to honor wrestlers from the past (or at least wrestlers from companies of which WWE now owns the libraries) but in reality, it won't happen unless the guy's name was commonly known to modern day followers of pro wrestling.

Also, the WWE choices for HOF follow the trends of their fans, one of which is that if something happened before their ability to remember it, it couldn't possibly be of any importance. They don't want a history lesson.... they want to see what's happening now.

But, hey! There's still hope because they're eventually going to run out of people to induct and might have to turn to the old-time guys......either that or abandon the annual HOF inductions.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Dispite the legitimate legends that are in the Hall of Fame, the Hall itself loses a ton credit with stupid inductions like Swartzenegger and * SIGH * Pete Rose. I wish they would omit these non deserving entrants to give The Hall some credit. I can't take HOF seriously at all with some of these..... Bob Eucker,
Donald Trump , * UGH * Drew Carey , Mike Tyson , Mr . T , Will The Fridge Perry .

All the people you have mentioned are members of the "celebrity" wing of the Hall of Fame. Other than Mr T (who was involved in the early WrestleMania main events) and Mike Tyson (for his work in the run-up to WrestleMania 14), none of the others are to be taken too seriously.

Their inductions shouldn't be classed on the same level as the main "class", it's usually just an induction designed to get the mainstream media attention McMahon craves. "Arnie going into a Wrestling Hall of Fame??, Guess I'll have to watch WrestleMania to see what he says"...that's how it works.

 

[chuckmdubya]

but in reality, it won't happen unless the guy's name was commonly known to modern day followers of pro wrestling.
.

Hit the nail right on the head with that one. They have to put on a show that people will watch. Practically no wrestling fans will sit through a 45 minute presentation with a 30 minute speech from someone who they have no idea who it is.

When you come into WWE, and you had a relative that was a wrestler before you, WWE will promote that to over and over again. And of course, wrestlers who get promoted more, become more popular and have an advantage over their relatives when it comes to fan popularity. And that popularity transitions into people wanting to watch the HOF induction, which means more network subscribers.

The Fathers just don't have the following now to make the ceremony interesting to modern fans.

 

[Planet_Velvet]

I agree all those you mention are deserving of the hall of fame but I don't agree its just fathers being left out as theres loads more worthy from their eras being left out like Lou Thesz, Haystacks Calhoun, Dick The Bruiser, The Crusher, Bobo Brazil, Gene Kiniski, Wahoo Mcdaniel, Rikidozan etc, Maybe its due to those guys being from a different era or most of their work being in a different company but don't see it just being exclusive to leaving out fathers of legends.

Actually, I think Bobo is in the HOF. I am in agreement that it is a shame that Lou Thesz isn't even mentioned in the HOF. However, contributions that directly affected WWE definitely have a hand in it. More WWE fans will be more familiar with Buddy Rogers than they will Thesz. And that's no knock on Rogers. His "Nature Boy" gimmick has influence a ton of wrestlers throughout the years. Only the NWA Hall of Fame will give props to the Everett Marshalls, Ed "Strangler" Lewises, and Whipper Billy Watsons of the game. WWE's HOF rewards sports-entertainment, not professional wrestling. So, these omissions should be expected/

 

[George Steele's Barber]

It's WWE, entertainment is the key. They are only going to put in so many pre-Golden age non-McMahon guys at a time. The Hall of Fame is basically just a show and a show needs stars to draw eyes.

There is not much else to this.

 

[ckoneagain]

The fact of the matter is that it's called the Hall of FAME not the Hall of IMPORTANT so some people are going to get put in there over other seeming more deserving people. Also, just because someone who has been put in there has a parent who isn't, doesn't mean there parent had as much of an impact as they did. And the Rock's dad got put in there before him so it's not always the case either. Anyway, my point is, important isn't the same as famous.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The fact of the matter is that it's called the Hall of FAME not the Hall of IMPORTANT so some people are going to get put in there over other seeming more deserving people.

That's true....and let's always keep perspective on this subject. Thankfully, unlike the recent protests regarding the Same Sex Marriage ruling and the Affordable Health decision, there aren't people with placards on the streets demonstrating their displeasure with WWE's choices for the Hall of Fame. Hopefully, there never will.

Anyway, my point is, important isn't the same as famous.

This is true too, otherwise how do they justify keeping some important people out of the HOF while inducting Koko B. Ware? Did the damn parrot get in, too?

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I think the point of WWE doing it the way they do - firstly the wrestlers themselves who are inducted have been WWE Superstars - and that is important to Vince.

Also - if they put all the legends in the HOF all in one year they wouldn't need an annual event. Got to have some people pending to go in to the HOF.

 

[pipebomber]

The WWE HOF is the ultimate way to honor a wrestler's legacy, whether or not they found the majority of their success in the WWE or not.

It seems as is the WWE is always keen to induct legendary sons of legendary wrestlers, bot not their legendary fathers, or induct their fathers in later years, like with Stu Hart (class of 2010.) Stu Hart's accomplishments as a promoter and trainer speak volumes for the man.
Another example is Larry "The Ax" Hennig who found much of his success in AWA and even training his son the legendary "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig.

It's hard to tell who is truly deserving of the induction as the fathers of a lot of these wrestlers found much of their success in wrestling before wrestling was on primetime cable television. Wrestlers who found success back in the territory days and with other organizations like the NWA or even in Japan or Mexico would have had a much more difficult time finding their success due to the lack of exposure from Internet and national television broadcasts.
It was harder on those men than men of today who become world champions by just working their way through the indies and developmental stages.

Like Eddie Guerrero's father, Gory Guerrer had a hall of fame career in Mexico and the US, as well as being the patriarch of the Guerrero wrestling family. However, his son, Eddie was inducted first.

For example,

Mr. Perfect (class of 2007)
Larry "The Ax" Hennig - yet to be inducted

Ted Dibiase, Sr. (class of 2010)
"Iron" Mike Dibiase - yet to be inducted

Eddie Guerrero (class of 2006)
Gory Guerrero - yet to be inducted

Bret Hart (class of 2006)
Stu Hart (class of 2010)

Anyone else notice this trend with the WWE Hall of Fame?

Let's be honest here, The WWE hall of fame is part of a business, inductees are largely chosen for business reasons, sometimes it's ticket sales, sometimes it's talent relations, sometimes it's cross promotional relations (see tatsuji Fujinami)

In the case of the harts, the guerreros and the hennigs, it's ticket sales. bret went in in 2006 because that's when he returned to WWE, he was relevant. that's when he would make the most ticket sales. Eddie died not long before his induction, as did Curt. these people were fresh in peoples mind and would sell more tickets and dvds.

I would imagine that Curtis Axel is pushing for larry's induction, at least I would hope he is, as larry is still alive and would be a welcome addition to any hall of fame class.

 

[Navi]

The WWE Hall of Fame almost always turns out to be a sore subject with most fans. Not many are ever truly happy with who gets inducted, as they feel that their personal favourites most times were ignored, again.

If you watched last years show it ran about 4 hours, and I've heard that the WWE is thinking of cutting back on the number of inductees going forward. Maybe what they should do is a fan vote on who gets in.

Put out a ballot on WWE.com with a list of names and let the WWE fans pick who they want to see go in. And make it an actual vote that counts. That way whoever ends up going into the HOF is who the fans want to see get honoured. It's just an idea, but it might be a more honest way than having bunch of suits decide. Let them pick the names and let us vote on it.

In regards to the OP though, not every family member is going to make it. Whether it be a brother, son, father, whoever. Unless some miracle happens I don't see Curt Axle going in, even though his father is in there. Axle's career has been less than stellar. Unfortunately some will never make it and who's to say why they didn't

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I think you're reading too much into this. Do you really think Larry Hennig, Mike DiBiase, and Gory Guerrero deserve to be in the HOF more than Mr. Perfect, Ted DiBiase, and Eddie Guerrero? It's not who you're related to but rather what you did for the business.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Honestly, a lot of this has to do with how the WWE educates their fans on the past.

Stu Hart for example, was not one of the biggest wrestlers of his era. If you went back and had some old timers list the best, most famous wrestlers in the world in the 40's, 50's and 60's, you would not include Stu Hart on your list. Stu's fame came from running his own territory, being a trainer, and the WWE pushing the legend of Stu Hart and his dungeon to originally get Bret over as a singles wrestler. Because of that education that the WWE provided on Stu Hart, today their fans know who he is, and consider him one of the best of his era (he must be if he's in the HOF, and so many from his time aren't).

Gory Guerrero, Larry Hennig, Mike Dibiase? These are guys that the WWE has had little to no interest in educating anyone on. As a result, three guys who's names in their day were on the level of the biggest stars in the world today are virtually unknown to an entire generation, and you get people online talking about how they don't even deserve the HOF because it's not about who you're related to, but what you've done for the business?

This is one of the problems with wrestling history, and specifically the fact that the WWE is the company that writes that history for so many current and incoming fans. If they don't want to educate you on someone, you're not likely to go educate yourself, and since you won't educate yourself... you just sit there in blissful ignorance while guys who dedicated their lives to the business at the highest levels become forgotten relics of a day gone by.