No one should headilne in 2012 other than Macho Man Randy Savage. Not the Rock, not Mick Foley, not Edge, not Vince McMahon, not anybody. Macho Man Randy Savage period.
First off, I can't believe that people are arguing that Edge shouldn't be inducted with the Rock, because Edge's moment to shine and spotlight will be taken away by the Rock, but have no problem whatsoever with the same thing happening to Macho Man who did 20X more for the WWF/E than Edge ever did. To quote the Miz, "Really???" People going with this logic must have only been watching the WWE for the last 10 years and completely missed on the Macho Man's career, which is sad. And for those that say, well Macho Man is dead so it's not like he can enjoy his moment anyway, well, it's not about just the wrestler, it's about the fans too. A wrestler's HOF induction means just as much to the wrestler's fans as it does the wrestler themselves. Obviously Macho Man won't be there to enjoy it and get his moment, but his fans will be, fans who have been waiting a decade for Macho Man to finally get his proper place in the HOF and recognition from the WWE for all he did for the wrestling business. Screw Edge (I love Edge, but he can wait), Macho Man is who should not get his spotlight taken away from the Rock.
Secondly, the biggest argument I've seen thrown at the Macho Man is that he can't headline because he's dead. A dead person can't headline because the fact that he won't be there will turn away attendees and thus make the HOF ceremony not draw. That's crap. I'll tell you why. I will be at Wrestlemania this year and the HOF ceremony. My sister and I will be flying from Indianapolis to Miami. Now, I have never, ever flown before, because I am deathly afraid of flying. But I can't drive because I will have to take too much time off work to go, so flying is really the only option. So I'm gonna have to conquer my fear of flying. Now do you think I am willing to conquer one of my biggest fears just to see John Cena and the Rock, or CM Punk and Chris Jericho? No way. Obviously those will be great matches, but I'd be just as content to watch those matches at home on PPV (Punk/Austin, then I might be willing to fly). You wanna know why I decided to do this? In the hopes of finally seeing Macho Man Randy Savage get inducted into the WWE HOF. This is the perfect year for it to happen, which thus makes it the most possible. I purchased a $900 WM travel package with the No. 1 reason being to see Macho Man inducted. So guess what, Macho Man's possible induction drew me to the show and put my butt in the seat, even though he's dead.
You see, this goes back to it being just as much for the fans as it does the wrestler. Younger fans probably don't get or understand this, but fans in my age group and even a bit younger grew up on Macho Man Randy Savage. He was a huge part of my childhood and is one of my all-time favorites. And it is an absolute crock that he was largely ignored by the WWE for the many years that he was. He is long overdue for the HOF. I want to see him get his due from the company he helped build. And there are thousands, if not millions of fans who feel the exact same that I do. It wouldn't matter if Macho Man was alive to accept his induction, or the fact that he is unfortunately no longer with us and can't accept, the meaning behind his induction would be just as big for us fans. Whether he's there or not, we will all be there to watch him finally get his moment. Macho Man Randy Savage is one of the biggest superstars in the history of the WWE. Dead or alive, he will draw fans into the HOF ceremony. Hogan would, Stone Cold would, Ric Flair would, Bret Hart would, Undertaker would, Shawn Michaels would, Rock would, Macho Man will. So the idea that Macho Man can't draw fans in because he's dead is just plain bullshit, simple as that.
Thirdly, it doesn't make good business sense to induct both the Rock and Macho Man at the same time. Macho Man and the Rock are two of the biggest pop culture icons that the wrestling business has produced (Rock being moreso without a doubt). An induction for either wrestler will not only draw tons of wrestling fans, but also mainstream press and attention. The Rock and the Macho Man don't need each other to help sell out the HOF ceremony. They can do it on their own. So why throw away a huge potential profit by inducting them both at the same time, when the WWE can go back and center another HOF ceremony on whomever doesn't get inducted this year? Let's say they induct Savage this year, as they should. Then the following year, or a few years down the road, they can center another HOF ceremony on the Rock. It just makes good business sense. And speaking of business sense, there is no better time than now to induct the Macho Man. Have you guys forgotten how much press and mainstream attention Macho Man's death garnered last year? Even at the end of the year when news shows were covering celebrities who died, Macho Man was mentioned every time. Everyone from Yahoo Sports, to ESPN, to even Fox News were talking about Macho Man's life and death, even just a week or so ago. An induction for the Macho Man will not only bring in long-time wrestling fans (pepole in my age group and older), but also the press. And you know Vince McMahon will take any press he can get.
So it's simple. Save the Rock for another year, and give Macho Man his long overdue induction. Plus, the Rock isn't done. This is not the Rock's last match, if the reports are true at least. The Rock is supposedly not going to be done with just Wrestlemania, but will have another match at Summerslam, if not more than that. While the Rock won't be a full-time active competitor, he's also not retired by any means. He'll back for more after Wrestlemania. So why induct such a young, semi-active wrestler? Ric Flair was almost 60 when he got inducted even though he was still active. The Rock is only 39 (he'll be 40 later this year).
As for Edge, again as someone pointed out, sorry to Edge fans, but he is just not a first ballot HOFer. He's not Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, Ric Flair, etc. He was a highly accomplished wrestler who achieved many things and had an amazing career. But he was never the top guy in the business, and he was mostly a good hand that kept things together. He never led the company. He's definitely a HOFer, but he shouldn't be inducted immediately. Give it 2-3 years, hopefully in that time the WWE will have Wrestlemania in Canada, then it'd be the perfect time to induct him (where he can headline).
As for Foley being a potential headliner this year, I'd much rather see Foley get the nod than the Rock. Simply for chronological reasons as Foley was wrestling for a decade before the Rock started. And he's older and from the looks of things is just about done with his in-ring career. Whereas the Rock is still gonna be in high-profile matches. But again as much as I love Foley, he needs to wait another year or two for the Macho Man to get his spotlight.
As for who should be inducted in 2012? I think if the HOF does indeed go with Macho Man Randy Savage to headline, I think the WWE should also induct Miss Elizabeth because it would be fitting, plus she is the last true full-fledged female HOFer of the pre-Attitude Era . Luna Vachon and Alundra Blayze are contenders as well, but they are just not at the level of Miss Elizabeth. She was the most prominent manager of the 1980's besides Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart, and considering they along with Mr. Fuji, Sherri Martel, Freddie Blassie, Capt. Lou Albano, and the Grand Wizard are all inducted, it makes sense to get the last great manager of the 1980's in (well, there's also Slick who was pretty good too). After that, I think the WWE would be wise to induct living inductees to make up for the emotional main event (Macho Man and Elizabeth). I think that Demolition, Arn Anderson (who's also long overdue), and Jake Roberts would be good candidates. As long as Jake Roberts gets himself clean and sober, just for the HOF ceremony, that would be a fun, and positive induction. Arn Anderson is reportedly one of the funniest guys in the business, so he could lighten things up. It's pretty much already confirmed that Mil Mascaras and Carlos Colon are going in, which I have no problem with. If they want to induct a celebrity, Mike Tyson and Donald Trump are probably the best two options. I think that Mr. T., Muhammad Ali, and Cyndi Lauper would also make fine candidates (Muhammad Ali would probably garner more press than anyone except for Donald Trump), but it's probably more realistic to get Mike Tyson and Donald Trump involved, as Mr. T reportedly turned down an induction a few years ago.
And as for the WWE "running out of HOF headliners" that's just ludicrous. You still have Bruno Sammartino and the Ultimate Warrior, who will be difficult to get in admittedly as they've refused, though I think with time the Warrior could budge. Not to mention you have Mick Foley and the Undertaker (who will retire in the upcoming years if not this year). Then there's the Rock and Macho Man depending on who doesn't get in this year (hopefully only one will). Edge can headline a class when they go to Canada. Then there's Triple H, Brock Lesnar, and Kurt Angle when he retires. Heck even if Sting retired and agrees to be inducted, even though he never wrestled for the WWE, he's still a big enough star to headline on his own (though that's a little far fetched admittedly). Then by the time all of those guys have been inducted you have current superstars who will be on the verge of retirement or at the end of their careers like Chris Jericho, John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, CM Punk, etc. And of course Vince McMahon, who will hopefully accept induction one day (if Jann Wenner can get himself inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, than Vince McMahon undoubtely should be in his own HOF, as he did way more for the wrestling business than Jann Wenner ever did for rock and roll).
And there are litterally hundreds of non-headlining HOFers that can fill out the next 10 years worth of classes. Some ideas off the top of my head.....
Bob Backlund (who should honestly headline a class, accomplishment wise, but he just wouldn't draw fans in addmittedly), Kevin Sullivan, Magnum TA, Tully Blanchard, Ole Anderson, Lex Luger, King Kong Bundy, Dynamite Kid, Rick Martel, the Honky Tonk Man, Jake Roberts, Rick Rude, Bad News Brown, Mike Rotundo, Barry Windham, Haku, the Barbarian, the British Bulldog, Owen Hart, Yokozuna, Bam Bam Bigelow, the Big Boss Man, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Sid, Goldust, Jeff Jarrett (unlikely), Brian Pillman, Kane, The Big Show, Booker T, William Regal, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, Tazz, JBL, etc.
Then as far as old school and international wrestlers that the WWE could induct to further "legitimize" their HOF.....
Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Frank Gotch, Lou Thesz, Jim Londos, "Whipper" Billy Watson (a great candidate for the Canadian class), Gene Kiniski (another great Canadian inductee), Haystacks Calhoun (probably the biggest old school WWE superstar not in the HOF besides Bruno Sammartino), Ivan Koloff, Ray Stevens, Johnny Valentine (Greg Valentine's father), Wahoo McDaniel, Jackie Fargo, Dick Murdoch, the Destroyer, Rikidozan, Giant Baba, El Santo, Gory Guerrero and the rest of the Guerrero family, Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, Tiger Mask, Jushin "Thunder" Liger, the Great Muta, Blue Demon, Perro Aguyao, El Canek, Dara Singh (would further their market into India).
Still plenty of tag teams to induct.....
The Fabulous Kangaroos (the first great tag team in pro wrestling history), Brusier and Crusher, the Andersons (Gene and Lars), The Moondogs, The British Bulldogs, the Rock and Roll Express, the Midnight Express, The Killer Bees, Demolition, the Bushwackers, the Fabulous Rougeaus (great candidate for the Canadian class), the Steiner Brothers, the Fabulous Freebirds, the Natural Disasters, the Nasty Boys, the Harlem Heat (though Booker should probably go in as a solo wrestler), the New Age Outlaws, the Dudley Boyz, and the Hardy Boyz.
Then as far as "Non-Wrestlers" like announcers, managers, promotors, etc..
Ed Whalen, Bob Caudle, Lance Russell, Tony Schivanoe, Sam Muchnick, Jim Crockett, Jim Barnett, Paul Boesch, Don Owen, Paul Heyman, Eric Bischoff, Jim Cornette, Slick, Gary Hart, etc.
And as far as female inductees go....
Mildred Burke, Penny Banner, Judy Grable, or any other sold school female wrestlers, then onto more modern ones like Luna Vachon, Alundra Blayze, Bull Nakano, Sable, Trish Stratus, Lita, etc.
The Hall of Fame shouldn't run out of inductees for at least another 10-15 years it will be fine.