WWE Hall Of Fame 2017 Speculation (Keep it in here!!!!)

[George Steele's Barber]

Why not? I thought it already happened to be honest. He had a decent length career, worked different organizations, travelled the world, won some titles, participated in big angles, had a hot wife, is not currently an embarrassment.

The Nancy Grace interview wasn't that bad. Sure, put the guy in to invisible hall of fame.

 

[Navi]

Just heard that "Ravishing" Rick Rude will also be part of the the 2017 Hall of Fame class. About ruddy time as well.

Wonder who will induct him, Sting or Ricky Steamboat maybe?

 

[Psykohurricane55]

Again for rude just like ddp, I'm waiting for wwe to confirm those name before really believing it because right now, these are just rumors and might hand up the same way as ray stevens and jbl being announce as being lock by this website in years past only to not being inducted at all.

 

[sikkbones]

I'm thinking it's going to be a wcw heavy year for a reason. The first two are major wcw names.

I could see Vader going in as well.

I suspect that Goldberg will headline

 

[Goldie]

Rick Rude was way overdue. One of the best heels of the late 80s/early 90s

His pre-match routine of insulting the audience whilst boasting about his prowess was hilarious. And he was a good worker too.... even dragging watchable matches out of the Warrior.

DDP merits it despite the way WWE treated him as a jobber in 2001-02.
Just hope he doesn't plug his yoga too much in his acceptance speech!

I'd still like to see the Bulldogs go in (and Davey boys solo career also merits it)

 

[Psykohurricane55]

So right now, the unconfirmed names for the hall of fame 2017 are

DDP
Rick Rude

So they have the dead wrestler category fill for this year, so i'm guessing that Chyna won't be inducted this year. Which lead me to the question, who do you pick for the others categories this year. So here are my thought as to who i would choose to fill those spots this year

Tag Team: The hart foundation: personally, i think it'S time to inducted jim neidhart into the hall of fame and you're not going to induct him by himself because his single career wasn't that great so why not induct the original hart foundation even if that means that jimmy hart and bret hart get another induction in the hall of fame.

Women wrestler: Sable: while i never really was a big fan of hers, i have to give credit where credit is do, she was one of the most popular women in the 90's and i don'T know why they didn'T induct her already.

celebrity: Cyndi Lauper: i know this is a long shot because she'S been very vocal against them in the past by it would be well deserve for her to get inducted this year since she was the first celebrity to come on board back in the 80'S and one of the main reason why WWE became so popular back then.

has for the rest of the class, i probably would go for Vader, Lex Luger, Goldberg and brutus beefcake

 

[Jack-Hammer]

According to PWInsider.com, it looks like the late Ravishing Rick Rude will take his place in the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend. Rude passed away in 1999 and the site suggests that there's talk of a current employee of WWE inducting him but it's not been confirmed.

Rude was a childhood favorite of mine and had a really memorable character. He was more well known for his character and in-ring degradations of the fans than his in-ring work, though he was a strong worker in the ring; I don't think that was really brought to light until he popped up in WCW in late 1991. He had some outstanding matches against Ric Flair, Sting and Ricky Steamboat, culminating in 3 "WCW International" World Heavyweight Championship wins and the 2nd longest United States Championship run in the title's history. Rude was forced to retire shortly after winning the WCW International title for a 3rd time against Sting in Japan; Rude took a suicide dive and landed awkwardly on the corner of an elevated platform that surrounded the ring.

Rude was said by a lot of wrestlers to be a highly devoted family man; I remember reading something Bret Hart said about him not even taking his wedding band off during matches, covering it up with tape. It's a shame that he was only 40 years old when he died and that his career was curtailed when he was still so young.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I really hope it's true because he deserve to be inducted. The guys was one of the best all around heel of his era and without him their wouldn't be a ultimate warrior in my opinion. But I guess will have to wait until wwe confirms it before celebrating because last year, pwinsider did release the list of inductees and at the end while most of the list came true, their was a couple of last minutes changes.

 

[Kyphael]

Rude to me was one of the greatest heels in WWE history. Great promo, great look, and great in-ring worker. A natural and professional in his role. In a parallel universe somewhere, the selfish, self-serving piece of shit known as Hulk Hogan would have shared the spotlight a bit better and guys like Rude and Perfect would now be former WWE Champions, if only transitional champions. Long overdue.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

Rude to me was one of the greatest heels in WWE history. Great promo, great look, and great in-ring worker. A natural and professional in his role. In a parallel universe somewhere, the selfish, self-serving piece of shit known as Hulk Hogan would have shared the spotlight a bit better and guys like Rude and Perfect would now be former WWE Champions, if only transitional champions. Long overdue.

Not to defend hogan or anything but you have to put yourself in that era, wwe was just starting up as a global company and before that was always a babyface territory so they needed heel to feed hogan just like vince sr. Would bring in heels to feed sammartino. That's how wrestling was booked back in the day because the babyface was putting butts in seats not the heels, so unless the heel was a super hot heel which, sadly rude wasn't, they wouldn't give him a title run.

I know it's hard for younger fans to understand especially in this era we're they think the know everything because they read stuff on the internet, but the boss was always vince and hulk was just doing what vince asked him go do which was to be the face of the company.

 

[ISkye]

It's a shame that he was only 40 years old when he died and that his career was curtailed when he was still so young.

A very unfortunate age and circumstance for his death. The in ring career being shortened hurts a bit alone at that. Despite his rather short run in a more memorable light, he put out a handful of gems in almost anywhere he wrestled. A few of his matches in Japan, and WCW can really reveal how talented and sharpened he was in his craft.

He was actually a really good tag team wrestler. If you dig around a little bit you can find a lot of his work with a tag partner or two and he really shines through a mist of others and their move sets. His character and ability to tell a basic story in a compelling way could really polish a match.

Also, he had various great matches in NJPW and All Japan Pro Wrestling through WCW connections. The 1992, G1 Climax had him face off against Masahiro Chono in a really methodical classic styled match. Rude really showed the potential of his in ring work, and mat based skill here. If you get a chance I'd reccomend watching it. Another good one is Rude, Terry Gordy, Steve Williams vs Misawa, Kawada, and Kikuchi in AJPW 1991.

He won championship belts, and had moments worth more than a note. If you really go back and dig into his career I think most of anyone can grow an appreciation for him not only as a performer, but as a person. You mentioned what Bret had said, and it apparently was more than true. Multiple people have had nothing to say but good and more good about Rude.

An in ring career, and life ended short leaving his career to be overshadowed by his ever growing peers. To deem his career underrated is hardly a worthwhile statement. He was great on the mic and worked his character well. He had feuds right out the gate with big and notable names. A great worker and a great friend to many of our favorite stars in Pro wrestling. Championships have been won, Great matches have been held. I'd say it's safe to grant him into the Hall of Fame. This time around certainly seems right.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I hope Bret Hart gets to induct Ravishing Rick Rude in to the WWE HOF. If only the young generation of today could have seen Rick Rude in real time, in the late 1980s and early 1990s when he was a truly brilliant Heel performer. The guy was a legend and had so many wonderful matches with so many - Jake the Snake, Ultimate Warrior, Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair. My favourite story about Rick Rude was before he broke in to Wrestling, he worked the doors at a nightclub and a big bad ass body builder tried to start a fight with him - and Rick Rude knocked him the F out with a backhanded slap haha

 

[Psykohurricane55]

If Warrior wasn't dead, i think he would have been the perfect guy to inducted him because when you think rick rude, his most famous feud was with the ultimate warrior. But since he'S gone, i would probably go for Sting to induct him mostly because again when you think rick rude's run in WCW, you think either Flair or Sting as his most famous feud in WCW and Sting was his opponent for his last match. In the end, no disrespect for the guy that suggested Bret Hart as his inductor but their no real connection between the 2 outside the fact that they we're in the same company in the 80's. Normally the always go with somebody that is link to the guy in some way. So since Warrior is dead, jake will probably be inducting DDP and Heenan doesn'T have the power to do this anymore, the next best thing would be sting.

 

[Makaveli31]

I would love to see Kevin Nash induct Rick Rude. Rude took Nash under his wing when Rude arrived in WCW in 1991 and Nash has said he would no accept a Hall of Fame induction before Rick Rude. I have a feeling when Nash accepted his Hall of Fame induction it was on the promise than Rick Rude would also be inducted.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Austin could be a good bet as the guy to induct him. Inductions for dead dudes are usually lacking so best to liven it up with one of the biggest stars of all time.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

With the 2 rumored name that has been announce by pwinsider, I'm thinking that it time more then ever to discuss who should be inducted along with those guys

So I'm going to predict based on the categories that they normally use for the hall of fame

Headliner: Goldberg: I'm thinking that this is I's almost a done deal at this point but I could be wrong

Tag team: the dudley's: that's kinda of a hard category based on the fact that most of the great team that aren't in the hall of fame are either a) on vince's bad side or b) vince doesn't know who they are. So with the dudley's being retired I'm thinking why not inducted them this year.

Women: sable: personally, I don't know why she not in the hall of fame already. She was one of the most popular diva during the new generation and attitude era, so it makes no sense why she's not in already.

Old timer: vader: again really hard to pick somebody from that category that they didn't
Already induct or isn't dead, so why not just ise this category to induct vader who is probably one of the best big man of his era

Celebrity: cyndi lauper: I know this would be a long shot but what other celebrity deserve it more then her

Other inducted: lex luger: again a guy that is deserving of being inducted for pretty much everything he did during is wcw run and even his wwe run in a way.

Warrior award: personally, I don't know what they have plan this year but I'm sure it will be somebody more deserving then last year recipient.

 

[LBGetBack]

With the 2 rumored name that has been announce by pwinsider, I'm thinking that it time more then ever to discuss who should be inducted along with those guys

So I'm going to predict based on the categories that they normally use for the hall of fame

Headliner: Goldberg: I'm thinking that this is I's almost a done deal at this point but I could be wrong

Tag team: the dudley's: that's kinda of a hard category based on the fact that most of the great team that aren't in the hall of fame are either a) on vince's bad side or b) vince doesn't know who they are. So with the dudley's being retired I'm thinking why not inducted them this year.

Women: sable: personally, I don't know why she not in the hall of fame already. She was one of the most popular diva during the new generation and attitude era, so it makes no sense why she's not in already.

Old timer: vader: again really hard to pick somebody from that category that they didn't
Already induct or isn't dead, so why not just ise this category to induct vader who is probably one of the best big man of his era

Celebrity: cyndi lauper: I know this would be a long shot but what other celebrity deserve it more then her

Other inducted: lex luger: again a guy that is deserving of being inducted for pretty much everything he did during is wcw run and even his wwe run in a way.

Warrior award: personally, I don't know what they have plan this year but I'm sure it will be somebody more deserving then last year recipient.

Definitely agree with Vader and the Dudleys. I think Michelle McCool is the most deserving woman that's not in yet. I assume she's not coming back to wrestle if she hasn't done so by now. I think Charlotte seems to be heavily influenced by McCool.

 

[Navi]

What I would like to see is Michelle McCool inducted the same year as Taker, considering they are husband and wife. That would be great, won't be a dry eye in the house.

As for the rest of this years inductees, I have absolutely no clue. In watching wrestling for the last however how long, never managed to get one right yet. That being said though I do think Vader should go in this year, lest he might be the one they posthumously induct a year or two from now.

The rest of the night is wide open.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

Another one of my favorite that I hope they inducted soon is brutus the barber beffcake. Again I'm really surprise that he hasn't been inducted yet seeing how over he was back in the day. He didn't win a lot of championships during his career but was always in the top program plus, who can forget the fact that he's the guy that beat mr. Perfect's undefeated streak.

 

[Razz]

Agree with DDP and Rude finally going in. But there are wrestlers and personalities who should already be in and are not, some even still alive if they are trying to make it a somewhat legit Pro Wrestling hall of fame. Talking about guys who don't make a comeback or wrestle once in a while like Taker or Rock.

Historical or foreign
Bruiser Brody
Ivan Koloff (Guy who defeated Bruno for the championship ending streak)
The Destroyer Dick Beyer (one of the influential masked american wrestlers)
Ray Stevens
Giant Baba (First Japanese NWA champion)
The Crusher
Gene Kiniski
Danny Hodge
El Santo
Baron Von Raschke
Don Leo Jonathan
Edouard Carpentier
Misawa
Kobayashi
Tony Garea
Gory Guerrero
Boris Malenko
Dick Murdoch
Adrian Adonis
Jody Hamilton
Billy Robinson
etc..

Late 1970s onwards
The British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid should have already been inducted when he was in better health)
Demolition
Great Muta
Tiger Mask
Ken Patera
Rick Martel
Rock and Roll Express
Dr Death
Kamala
Bam Bam Bigelow
Tenryu
Haku
Ronnie Garvin
Hillbilly Jim
Chavo Sr.
Tommy Rich
Terry Taylor
Steve Keirn
Jacques & Ray Rougeau
Ole Anderson
Magnum TA
Nikita Koloff
Butch Reed
Bobby Eaton
Chris Adams
Miss Elizabeth
Luna Vachon
Lord Alfred Hayes
Cyndi Lauper
Gary Hart
Andy Kaufmann
Jim Cornette
Slick
etc..

late 1980s onwards
Sid Vicious
Steiner Brothers
Vader
Lex Luger
Brian Pillman
Owen Hart
Eddie Gilbert
Art Barr
The Barbarian
One Man Gang
Sean Waltman
Dean Malenko
RVD
Bryan Adams
Marty Jannetty
Earthquake
Konnan
Chono
Liger
Shane Douglas
etc..

 

[sikkbones]

Wait... Who wants Sean waltman or Marty janetty in the hall of fame?

Hill billy Jim?

Its wcws year... Induct the shockmaster/tugboat.

But in all seriousness the comedy acts might get in.

Shane Douglas never will.

 

[sikkbones]

Another thought, its a travesty that john tenta has yet to be inducted.

 

[LBGetBack]

Agree with DDP and Rude finally going in. But there are wrestlers and personalities who should already be in and are not, some even still alive if they are trying to make it a somewhat legit Pro Wrestling hall of fame. Talking about guys who don't make a comeback or wrestle once in a while like Taker or Rock.

Historical or foreign
Bruiser Brody
Ivan Koloff (Guy who defeated Bruno for the championship ending streak)
The Destroyer Dick Beyer (one of the influential masked american wrestlers)
Ray Stevens
Giant Baba (First Japanese NWA champion)
The Crusher
Gene Kiniski
Danny Hodge
El Santo
Baron Von Raschke
Don Leo Jonathan
Edouard Carpentier
Misawa
Kobayashi
Tony Garea
Gory Guerrero
Boris Malenko
Dick Murdoch
Adrian Adonis
Jody Hamilton
Billy Robinson
etc..

Late 1970s onwards
The British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid should have already been inducted when he was in better health)
Demolition
Great Muta
Tiger Mask
Ken Patera
Rick Martel
Rock and Roll Express
Dr Death
Kamala
Bam Bam Bigelow
Tenryu
Haku
Ronnie Garvin
Hillbilly Jim
Chavo Sr.
Tommy Rich
Terry Taylor
Steve Keirn
Jacques & Ray Rougeau
Ole Anderson
Magnum TA
Nikita Koloff
Butch Reed
Bobby Eaton
Chris Adams
Miss Elizabeth
Luna Vachon
Lord Alfred Hayes
Cyndi Lauper
Gary Hart
Andy Kaufmann
Jim Cornette
Slick
etc..

late 1980s onwards
Sid Vicious
Steiner Brothers
Vader
Lex Luger
Brian Pillman
Owen Hart
Eddie Gilbert
Art Barr
The Barbarian
One Man Gang
Sean Waltman
Dean Malenko
RVD
Bryan Adams
Marty Jannetty
Earthquake
Konnan
Chono
Liger
Shane Douglas
etc..

Rick Martel isn't in? I find that surprising. Put him in, and have Tito Santana induct him. Loved that tag team and then rivalry. Martel's segments were always entertaining, and his matches always solid.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Glad to see Rude will finally be getting his due, and for who should induct him? I say Heyman. He managed him in WCW for a time with the Dangerous Alliance. When Rude first got back into the business after being forced to retire, Heyman was the guy who gave him that first chance in ECW. They were close, and you can bet Pauly has some good Rude stories to share.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Rick Martel isn't in? I find that surprising. Put him in, and have Tito Santana induct him. Loved that tag team and then rivalry. Martel's segments were always entertaining, and his matches always solid.

Martel absolutely should be in, but I don't know if he wants it. I don't believe he has a Legends contract, and he doesn't really need one either. The guys built up a pretty successful post-wrestling career in real estate. He might consider the whole thing to be more hassle than it's worth?

I know he likes going to the conventions from time to time. But I think that's more just to reconnect with some of the boys and fans than anything else.