Would WWE allow a sponsor to fill a HOF spot?

[Trill Co$by]

So every year, the WWE announces their latest inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame, and whether or not you agree with their decision on when someone should go in, thus far most inductions have been well warranted. With that being said, some inductions still seem to escape us, such as the induction of Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Triple H, The Rock, JBL (Yes, he belongs even if just as APA member), etc. etc. And every year, people are left feeling bad because of these exclusions. And while I won't say they're not warranted, I also understand that guys like Bulldog, Hart, and The Rock deserve to be the main event inductees for their classes.

But what I've always wondered is, with the ever growing expansion of WWE as a public company, and more sponsors becoming more involved with the 50+ year company; is it possible that WWE would allow a sponsor to purchase an induction slot for the sponsor to pick freely (as long as they're reasonably deserving)? For example, if a company like HBO were to pay for a spot and want to induct The Rock into the hall of fame, do you think WWE would allow it? Or maybe not even The Rock, let's say it's someone like Nelson Frazier Jr. (AKA Viscera, Mabel, Big Daddy V, etc) that HBO wanted to see inducted, would WWE allow it?

Random topic, I know but I figure it's something to think about.

 

[FromGlasgow]

Probably if WWE got offered enough money to do it they would, The bigger question I would have is why HBO would want Mabel in a wrestling hall of fame or why would any company pay to have a wrestler inducted in a hall of fame, I'm sure if anyone offered WWE say 50 million to make an induction they would induct anyone even some random caterer or cleaner who works for them, Can't see anyone ever offering to pay to have someone inducted though.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Does Big Vis not deserve a HOF spot? I'm not going to use the Koko defence here, so what particularly disqualifies him from entry? He's a former King of the Ring, most of those guys are present or future Hall of Famers. He also held the tag titles.

Sure, he spent a lot of time as a comedy act (love machine gimmick) but nothing changes that he held gold and KOTR when that title mattered most.

Personally, I think there are less deserving people in the HOF, and it's a hall of fame for a scripted combat sport.

Should corporations be allowed to influence WWE's HOF decisions? They basically already do, seeing as everything WWE does is about money, and sponsors pay money. As long as the selected candidate isn't going to harm WWE or its fans (ie Benoit, a local jobber, Buff Bagwell) then I don't really see the harm. Vis was a talented black athlete who left WWE and made his way back. He's not the worst thing ever, but this HOF isn't strictly about being the best.

Your post is worded a little oddly. Do you mean inducting a sponsor? Like Slim Jim? Stacker 2? Mountain Dew? That's a bit much.

Side note - OP, you say that JBL should get in, if only as an APA member. I know that you are not saying that he shouldn't, but I felt it important to say that he gets in on his own merits. The 18 month title Reign, feuds with Eddie, Cena, Mysterio, and The Wrestler based angle with Michaels were all great.

Even as an announcer, which many people begged for, then many others went on to malign. We'd all, myself included, sing a different tune about JBL commentary if he was a straight up heel on Raw and play by play actually called the action.

 

[ShinChan]

It may happen only if WWE is offered too huge amount of money. As FromGlasgow said above, Why would any private company even think of paying money for a scripted kayfabe Hall Of Fame induction?

By the way, it was a nice creative idea from you, buddy.

​

 

[J.J.]

I'm not sure I would agree with that, but money talks. As someone pointed out you take a risk of someone being inducted that has no connection to WWE. Plus with that I can only see someone with a lot of money to blow buying a HOF spot.

 

[Trill Co$by]

Does Big Vis not deserve a HOF spot? I'm not going to use the Koko defence here, so what particularly disqualifies him from entry? He's a former King of the Ring, most of those guys are present or future Hall of Famers. He also held the tag titles.

Sure, he spent a lot of time as a comedy act (love machine gimmick) but nothing changes that he held gold and KOTR when that title mattered most.

Personally, I think there are less deserving people in the HOF, and it's a hall of fame for a scripted combat sport.

I'm not saying Big V doesn't deserve it, because I feel he does. But to say his induction would be a headline induction like The Rock would be a stretch. So instead I gave the "sponsored induction" to a guy like Big Daddy V, who would otherwise be overlooked by guys like The Goon instead of getting a legitimate induction. Would WWE allow a company like HBO to come up and say, "Hey, we'd like to pay 1.5 Million to have you induct Nelson Frazier Jr." and actually do it? Keep in mind, 1.5 Million seems like a lot, but SuperBowl ads alone can get even higher than that. And we all know that Vince loves to compete with the NFL

Should corporations be allowed to influence WWE's HOF decisions? They basically already do, seeing as everything WWE does is about money, and sponsors pay money. As long as the selected candidate isn't going to harm WWE or its fans (ie Benoit, a local jobber, Buff Bagwell) then I don't really see the harm. Vis was a talented black athlete who left WWE and made his way back. He's not the worst thing ever, but this HOF isn't strictly about being the best.

Buff Bagwell being the Hall of Fame isn't that bad of an idea. The guy drew in a lot of money for the WCW at one point, but people forget that because he's not named Booker T, Scott Steiner, or Goldberg. But there was a time when Buff Bagwell did bring in some money, and he was white hot. The problem was that he couldn't transition to WWE's overly scripted matches. That's where things went bad for him, because he wasn't allowed the freedom he had in WCW.

Your post is worded a little oddly. Do you mean inducting a sponsor? Like Slim Jim? Stacker 2? Mountain Dew? That's a bit much.

No no. I'm just asking if WWE would allow a company like HBO to have an entire slot dedicated to an induction they want to see, as long as it's a legitimate induction.

Side note - OP, you say that JBL should get in, if only as an APA member. I know that you are not saying that he shouldn't, but I felt it important to say that he gets in on his own merits. The 18 month title Reign, feuds with Eddie, Cena, Mysterio, and The Wrestler based angle with Michaels were all great.

I said "Even if only" meaning that if we're going to just gloss over his entire heel run on Smackdown, I would still consider him big enough as a tag team competitor to warrant an induction. But of course, he DID do more... a lot more. And that would definitely qualify him as a future inductee.

Even as an announcer, which many people begged for, then many others went on to malign. We'd all, myself included, sing a different tune about JBL commentary if he was a straight up heel on Raw and play by play actually called the action.

Oh I've always been on the side of JBL for commentary, much like I am for Lawler staying at the table. The two of them bring an aspect that we don't really get to see, and as we've seen recently on Smackdown; when a guy like Jerry or JBL bring their vast knowledge of in ring experience into their arguments, it helps them a whole lot more. Hearing Lawler say, "I used to beat a lot of people in my day too" instead of "I would never do something like that" is a huge bonus, because there was a time when Lawler was as good if not better than Ric Flair in terms of drawing heat. Just look at what he did with Bret Hart.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Why would a company such as HBO care about a wrestler being in the Hall of Fame? They're probably going to get in eventually regardless.

I'm sure WWE would do it (or almost anything) for the right amount of money, but no company ever would.

 

[Trill Co$by]

Why would a company such as HBO care about a wrestler being in the Hall of Fame? They're probably going to get in eventually regardless.

I'm sure WWE would do it (or almost anything) for the right amount of money, but no company ever would.

Why would McDonalds pay for a SuperBowl ad worth 1.5 Million Dollars? Spend money, to make money. HBO gets advertisement and a HUGE beneficial bonus of people calling into their providers and ordering the HBO movie package deals. All because they properly placed a well deserved induction to possibly an Owen Hart or a Big Daddy V. Because that's just how advertisement works. Because they'd get a continued royalty check off of the WWE Network streaming that very same Hall of Fame induction ceremony endlessly. Because you know, making money when you need to make money is always a good thing. A person like you wouldn't understand that.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Why would a company such as HBO care about a wrestler being in the Hall of Fame?

Presumably, HBO would want something out of it, no?

But what? How could sponsoring an initiative like this possibly benefit the network? What would HBO be getting for their money? Even if they had some reason to be grateful to the guy/gal they're sponsoring, what on Earth could they hope to accomplish by spending a chunk of money on something like this?

But if someone wanted to do it.....and WWE was amenable.....sure, why not? Yes, for the good folks who would complain wrestling is 'fake and scripted,' we see actors honored all the time for their work in fake & scripted TV shows and movies, right?

 

[Rayne]

As has been stated...... where's the return on investment for a WWE Hall Of Fame spot? If a company were to purchase one, they'd have to expect or at least predict a reasonable return on investment. (If they don't, that's called investor fraud.) You can justify all kinds of expenses under those terms, but the financial/advertising value of a WWE Hall of Fame spot is limited to local advertising for pizza restaurants and used car dealerships. To a company looking to purchase it, it's not worth the cost.

But- to an individual? Say, if someone had $5 million burning a hole in their pocket, and wanted a Hall of Fame spot? Sure- just write up a Vince story, have two performers representing Vince and the guy who bought the spot fight at Wrestlemania, and then do the Hall of Fame induction. I'd never turn down free money.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I think a HOF should based around the talent or it would cheapen the HOF prestige. I draw the line after Celeb wings. However, I do not see a sponsor going in. However, they could have a "Friend of WWE" recognition event beyond HOF, to thank corporations that have helped WWE - such as Madison Square Gardens, Trump/Boardwalk hall, Wallmart, US Army, Make a wish foundation, Sky TV, The Special Olympics, and of course the USA Network.