Who Will You Be Voting For to Put Into the HOF?

[Mac Attack]

When the day comes there WILL be a vote as to who makes it into the Hall of Fame. What this means is that you will get one vote as to who you would like to see be in the HOF every 3 months. So the question is who will you be voting for.

I know the list of nominees has yet to be revealed and there are still two more stars to be added before voting however who are you going to be backing in the voting rounds?

Personally I feel that I will be backing Vince himself if he doesn't make it before the voting rounds happen. He is the figure head of the most sucessful wrestling companies of all time and he deserves a ton of credit. He is a successful business man and and overall good guy. He will be getting my first round vote.

 

[The Prodigal Anti-Lemming]

My priority right now extends to Lou Thesz and Frank Gotch, whose many achievements I have outlined in several threads. Thesz, in particular, as a 6-time world titlist and the first name that even many of the uninformed think of when they think “old school” belongs in there. Gotch, one of three “name” wrestlers of his era, deserves recognition as the main representative of a time period when professional wrestling was still developing and maturing.

If, by some minor miracle, both make it into the top five, as I strongly believe they should, my priorities will transfer to Ed “the Strangler” Lewis, the biggest name of the 1910s and 1920s who carried seven official world championship reigns (counting the obscure Olin line) and was the top hooker in wrestling history after Thesz.

I do strongly back these three in particular, as I believe a hall of fame without adequate classical representation is not a hall of fame at all and only a Mr Popular listing.

 

[Final Form Snyper.]

I'd say it is about time we put in one of the founding fathers of Professional Wrestling. Frank Gotch was a great wrestler but will always be known for his match with oiling himself to disadvantage George Hackenschmidt.The smarks would have a field day with that choice in the Hall Of Fame. Also in saying that he was very accomplished as a grappler/hooker. A big name in the dark ages of Professional Wrestling and was just tough as nails. I suppose if you can have Pete Rose in there, you can have Frank Gotch.

 

[CaptainCollegiate]

I would absolutely love to see Rikidozan in the Hall of Fame. He wrestled all-time greats such as Lou Thesz and Frank Gotch.

 

[The Prodigal Anti-Lemming]

I would absolutely love to see Rikidozan in the Hall of Fame. He wrestled all-time greats such as Lou Thesz and Frank Gotch.

Not to nitpick or anything, but Rikidozan was only born approximately seven years after Gotch died...

In relation to the other post, Gotch's alleged oiling in the match against Hackenschmidt, which as far as I am concerned is alleged (as far as I know, Hack left the U.S. after the bout without mentioning it, then faced with explaining his defeat to the European press, suddenly started raising the accusations), should have no more impact on his placement in the hall than Ric Flair for his reliance on the interference of Baby Doll to defeat Dusty Rhodes for the NWA title in 1986. The smarks can moan all they want about the selection, but in the end, most of them concern themselves with modern scandals/hearsay and think that wrestling began with Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair and that The Rock is one of the great pioneers of the industry.

Gotch may have bathed in coconut oil, or he made not have...although another thing I find suspicious about Hack's claims is that he seemed to know precisely what oil Gotch had doused himself in...but regardless of the truth, the man's overall skill and effect on the game are not to be denied.

 

[dd23beatlesfan1]

For my first vote, I'm leaning towards one of the following six people.....

Wrestlers (In Chronological Order)

Frank Gotch

I was very happy to see Lou Thesz amongst the initial inductees, but as of right now we have one wrestler who emerged in the 1990's (Stone Cold), three wrestlers who emerged in the 1970's and by the '80s were supestars (Andre, Hogan, Flair), and one wrestler in the "Television Era" (Thesz). But we have no one in the "Pioneer Era" (1800's-1930's). Obviously the first one of that bunch should be Frank Gotch. He was the American superstar who put pro wrestling on the map. I'm probably leaning towards him as being the 6th inductee, though there are other possibilities.


Gorgeous George

The wrestler who made showsmanship, charisma, and a character/gimmick just as important as in-ring ability and work. He was arguably the first "sports-entertainer" and thus one of the most important wrestlers in history. Also one of the biggest pop culture icons pro wrestling ever produced.


Buddy Rogers

Took what Gorgeous George started and upped the ante two fold. Also he was as big a draw and a more successful champion and a greater worker than Gorgeous George. Buddy Rogers to me was the better, more truer heel, and thus a greater wrestler than Gorgeous George. Though George was first.


Rikidozan

The father of Japanese pro wrestling. We should have non American pro wrestling represented soon, and thus I think Rikidozan would be an appropriate 1st inductee.


El Santo

Then again we have El Santo out of Mexico who put Lucha Libre on the map. He also would be a fine first inductee for non-American Pro Wrestling as well.


Non-Wrestlers


Vince K. McMahon Jr.

This is one of the few cases in which chronological order goes out the window for me. Before Mr. McMahon, there was Vince Sr., Sam Muchnick, Toots Mondt, Bob Geigel, Eddie Graham, Jim Barnett, and other important pro wrestling promotors, but Vince Jr. should rightly be the first promotor in our HOF. He's the best ever and the most important.


After writing about those six, I'm leaning towards Frank Gotch, but any of the other five would be worthy candidates.

 

[The Prodigal Anti-Lemming]

I think that if we’re thinking about putting in promoters (which perhaps shouldn’t happen before the first ten wrestlers or so go into the hall), then a specific category aimed at promoters needs to be established. I also believe there should eventually be categories introduced for the best tag teams and women wrestlers, and perhaps one category that honors any worthy international star in general (rather than having wrestlers from Japan in one category and wrestlers from Mexico in another).

In the area of promoting, Vince McMahon is certainly the most powerful and influential of all-time. As much as I die a little inside each time I acknowledge that. Other top promoters I feel would be crucial to a hall of fame—once the association between sections of the hall is established, if it is established—are Jack Curley(New York), Sam Muchnick (NWA), Tom Packs (St Louis) and Paul Bowser (Boston AWA).

 

[Beastmode 24]

I would vote for Frank Gotch. Most definatley. If it was not for Gotch/Hackenshmidt, there would be no professional wrestling for us to enjoy/argue over. lol

 

[Doctor Awesome]

I can't disagree one bit w/the people everyone is going with, the guys who started it all. But, Buddy Rogers and Gorgeous George are both already in. I was considering posting a thread on who I think would be a good Japanese induction to go in sooner than later, and that is The Great Muta.

Even though he never wrestled for the McMahon's, he is Japans version of Sting and his accolades and allure made him famous and respected worldwide. When he first went to the NWA there was nothing else there like him and he worked his way up to being the company's Champion (albeit briefly). He did wrestle Hogan a couple of times, too.

We all know that half of the selections are random and are often given to "less deserving" former talents but this one would be exciting for the many people that followed Muta in the states and Japan. He was very unique and would be a great addition to the HOF, as he is one of the few guys that never worked for Vince.

 

[Arashi]

I would be all for Mitsuharu Misawa (who not only had some of the greatest matches of all time (most five star matches all time) but GAVE HIS LIFE to the business)), Kenta Koboshi (again some of the greatest matches ever), and Keiji Mutoh (the great muta.)