WCW Hall of Fame

[Lee]

The WCW Hall of Fame was established in 1993 to honor wrestlers who began their careers long before the 1990s, mostly alumni of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), the predecessors of WCW.

Inductees received commemorative plaques that had their names inscribed on it. Wrestlers were inducted by Gordon Solie, a senior announcer in professional wrestling, and received their plaque during the "Legends Reunion" segment at WCW's May pay-per-view event, Slamboree.

There were seventeen people inducted into this HOF;

Spoiler: WCW HOF INDUCTEES

Lou Thesz
Verne Gagne
Mr. Wrestling II
Eddie Graham
Harley Race
Ernie Ladd
The Crusher
Dick the Bruiser
Ole Anderson
Masked Assassin
Wahoo McDaniel
Dusty Rhodes
Antonio Inoki
Angelo Poffo
Terry Funk
Big John Studd
Gordon Solie

The WCW HOF seemed to have a different air about it than the WWE HOF, acknowledging past greats who had made an impact. Now the question I ask you is this....

If WCW still had a HOF, who do you feel would be inducted into it, and most importantly why?

 

[JerryvonKramer]

Well right off the bat:

Ric Flair -- obviously

Sting -- for being the main face in the company for most of its shelf-life.

Ricky Steamboat -- for all his tremendous matches against Flair and, among others, Rude and Windham.

Arn Anderson -- for being a cornerstone of the greatest stable in wrestling history, a great ring technician and tag-team specialist.

Beyond those it gets a bit more tricky. I'm not sure, but I'll just toss some names out there for consideration:

Rick Rude
Vader
The Great Muta
Marcus Alexander (Buff) Bagwell
Ron Simmons
Barry Windham
Nokita Koloff
Lex Luger
Hulk Hogan
Randy Savage
Roddy Piper
DDP
Booker T
Goldberg
Bobby Heenan (as commentator)
Tony Schovani (as commentator/ interviewer)

I think these are the sorts of people we'll be looking at.

 

[Lee]

Now sticking in mind with the rest of the HOF the first person that springs to mind, is someone who was inducted in the WWE HOF last year. Whilst I feel he shouldn't have been in the WWE HOF, he definitely should be in the WCW HOF he is the 16 time world champion. The Nature Boy Ric Flair. Debuting in 1974 for Crockett's Mid Atlantic region, Flair was in the last ever match in WCW history.

 

[thewrestlinghero]

i actaully agree with most of guys that the guy befor me said but i would add rey meysterio ultimio gurrenreo and some other cruserweight most wrestlers made the career in wcw and made the cruserweight divsion in wcw so i think deserverd a spot if it was still around

 

[Tastycles]

Sting and Flair for reasons that are too obvious and dull to go into.

I'm going to assume WCW didn't go out of business if its hall of fame still existed, in which case Eric Bischoff has to go in as the man who took WCW from being in firmly second place to its 84 week ratings streak. Sure he made mistakes, but so has Vince McMahon. Unlike McMahon though, Bischoff couldn't take uneccessary risks as he didn't actually own the company. Bischoff methods of running a promotion revolutionised the industry - Monthly PPVs? Bischoff. Adult orientated product? Bischoff. North American cruiserweights? Bischoff. Turning uber faces heel? Bischoff.

Which brings me onto my next three inductees. The original nWo. Nash, Hall and Hogan are the three that took WCW from being the rasslin retirement home to being edgy and top rate. Hogan was as important to WCW in this time as he was to WWF in the late 80s. Nash and Hall made it edgy, and Hall's idea to turn Sting into a Crow-like character is almost worthy of induction on its own.

Madusa made the WWF look stupid, by throwing her title away. She was also the only woman to hold a mens' title on WCW and has to be considered worthy from that point of view.

Finally, you would have to put a cruiserweight in there, because that was certainly a unique selling point for the company, and the best bets are probably the most decorated, the most over and the ones that epitomised the division's style the most. For me that is Rey Mysterio jr. and Billy Kidman.

 

[JerryvonKramer]

I'm going to assume WCW didn't go out of business if its hall of fame still existed, in which case Eric Bischoff has to go in as the man who took WCW from being in firmly second place to its 84 week ratings streak. Sure he made mistakes, but so has Vince McMahon. Unlike McMahon though, Bischoff couldn't take uneccessary risks as he didn't actually own the company. Bischoff methods of running a promotion revolutionised the industry - Monthly PPVs? Bischoff. Adult orientated product? Bischoff. North American cruiserweights? Bischoff. Turning uber faces heel? Bischoff.

Don't wanna be awkward but wouldn't it be a bit smarky to induct Bischoff? That original WCW list looks pretty kay-fabe to me.

 

[Lee]

PLEASE DO NOT GIVE LISTS BUT INSTEAD EXPAND ON THEM AND GIVE US REASONS WHY THAT SHOULD BE THE CASE. JUST GIVING A LIST WITHOUT AN OPINION IS DEEMED AS SPAM​

Back on topic though, some good choices from people, seems like the NWO of Hogan, Nash and Hall are a popular choice, as is Sting and Flair. That I would have to agree with,Sting is WCW, you think of WCW you think of Sting....he was even centre on the WWE starcard DVD. Sting deserves to go in.

The NWO rocketed WCW and brought it to an edgier new direction, which gave it an extra lifeline. It is for that reason that Nash, Hall and Hogan deserve to be in.

EDIT However NWO don't fit in with the spirit of the original WCW HOF it is for that reason that I feel like they shouldn't be!

 

[JerryvonKramer]

I think Barry Windham is probably a shoo-in if we're letting the likes of Hall and Nash in.

He could get over as a face or a hell, he was a Horseman, a really good US Champ in 1988-9, was part of a very good tag-team with Dustin Rhodes, and a World Champ (one of the last ever NWA champs before the final split).

Not to mention he was a decent worker, had some great matches with Flair and even with Luger. Strong case I'd say.

 

[y2empleh]

Some names I haven't heard mentioned yet.

Missy Hyatt - the first true wrestling diva in my opinion

Kevin Sullivan - whether you love or hated the dungeon of doom, he was a vital part of the company for over a decade.

steiner brothers

road warriors

lance storm

hollywood blondes

colonel robert parker

paul heyman/paul e dangerously

theodore long

jay leno - assuming they did a celebrity wing similar to wwe's with pete rose

dennis rodman - same as leno

the patriot

raven

dustin rhodes

jim ross

larry zbysko

 

[y2empleh]

and to the original poster, lee-generation x, why are you telling us not to give a list when you yourself gave us a list?


Slyfox696 (Global Moderator) edit: Because just giving a list without explaining anything else in your post is considered spam.

 

[eXtremely-Priceless2K9]

Hulk Hogan
face of the company, reliable charisma and Fan fav
Ric Flair
World champ loads of times for a reason Charisma Wrestling skills and had good chemistry with anyone
Sting
When you think of sting you think
6 tyme WCW champion
In total he held 20 different acolades in WCW
AND is the only one who stayed loyal by NEVER going to WWF/E
Thats Just 3 i can think of
and oh yeah The rest of the NWO

 

[TREE24K]

I would have to include Harlem Heat in this too. Multi time tag champs and Booker T went on to win a few singles belts. I think the Steiners could both go in as singles competitors as well as a tag team.

And I know I'm a Dean Malenko mark, but I have to put the man in. He held every belt in WCW except the World Championship and the TV Title. Was a member in the last ever incarnation of the legendary 4 Horsemen.

DJ Ran anybody?

 

[Hyorinmaru]

If WCW was still inducting people into their HoF Bischoff would be a shoe in. He took a company that was hemorrhaging money year after year and brought it up to a level where they almost put Vince and the WWE out of business. If that isn't enough to get him into the HoF then I don't know what would.

 

[seven3too]

my wcw hof would include sting flair arn anderson barry windham vader ron simmons tarry taylor larry zbybsko nikita kolov brian pillman rick rude ricky steamboat road warriors paul ellering sid vicious kevin nash scott hall eric bischoff lex luger ddp bobby eaton the fabulous freebirds jim cornete the stiener bros the great muta jushin thunder liger dusty and dustin rhodes harlem heat tony schvonie harley race.

notable mentions: lodi lenny lane missy hyatt ice train mr hughes pn news glacier the yellow dog la parka el dandy karl malone shaq david arquette bill kazmier sgt craig pitbull pitman buddy parker wrath kid romeo and yugi nagata

 

[zone3og]

Well being born and raised in Atlanta I grew up on WCW so I know just about everybody who came through. I couldnt fit everyone on here who I would put in. I'm not putting people in based title wins but by who put asses in the seats.
FLAIR
STEAMBOAT
DUSTY
HARLEY RACE
BARRY WINDHAM
TULLY
THE ANDERSONS: except OLE racist bastard. If you have WWE 24\7 this month you know what I'm talking about.
JJ DILLON
FUNKS
BRISCOS
TOMMY RICH
GARVINS
FREEBIRDS
STEINERS
ROAD WARRIORS
TEDDY LONG: he put in so much work as a ref and manager and did a lot behind trhe scenes and his community.
TOMMY YOUNG: One of the top three refs of all time.

 

[Swolfsta22]

Im pretty mad noone said my favorite wrestler of all time DDP "diamond Dallas Paige" hes a 4 time wcw tag champ, a 1 time television champ, 2time us champin and a 3time world heavyweight champion not to mention he started his actual wrestling career in his late 30s and held so much gold, nd wasa excellent wrestler as well and Great on the mic. No one can forget the Diamond!


SELF HIGH FIVE <>

 

[Thriller Ant]

The first man who came to my mind was Sting. He and Goldberg were the face faces (lol) of the company during the Monday Night Wars. I would go as far as saying that he was the best performer in the company during that period.

Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Hulk Hogan would also be in for sure. Without these three and the New World Order, WCW ends in the mid 90's. This may be (arguably) the greatest stable in wrestling history. I would even say it is the most important stable in wrestling history.

Diamond Dallas Page would also have to go in. He did little to nothing in WWE/F but he was a perennial main eventer in WCW and got one of the best matches ever out of Goldberg at Halloween Havoc 1998. A very underrated wrestler

I'm surprised he hasn't been mentioned yet, but what about Chris Jericho? He was a mainstay in the cruiserweight division and even moved up and held the TV Title for awhile. He was always entertaining and gained a lot of heat as a heel. Oh yeah, and Lion Tamer > Walls of Jericho

Any of the cruiserweights can go here, but I'd personally go with either Rey Jr. or Kidman. These two took my liking of wrestling and turned it into a passion. They did moves that I could not fathom and were always entertaining.

As for Goldberg, I'm not sold on him. He was dominate for 4 years, and in that time he lost only 6 times. However, he was never really in any storylines besides being undefeated and was not that good on the mic except for "Who's Next?" He would probably be in, but he is not a "sure thing" for me.