We have all seen the recent report that Arn Anderson, Ron Simmons & Lex Luger are the leading candidates for the Hall Of Fame this year. If WWE does keep with the WCW themed HoF who would you say is deserving of this years class ?
Interesting thread, and very thought provoking one, I'll be more than glad to comment on the choices you've made and expand upon them. Since Arn Anderson, Ron Simmons and Luger are all considerations, I won't mention them any further than just this opening paragraph, but they are choices that I agree with.
Brian Pillman: Brian was one of the first high flyers of WCW and he more then made up for the lack of size in his performance and his mic skills.
To anyone who was watching WCW in the late 80s and early 90s, Brian Pillman was an exceptional talent in the ring, when people think about Rey Mysterio in the ring going up against men bigger than him, it reminds me of the times Brian Pillman wrestled against guys like Barry Windham, Lex Luger, Sid Vicious and Mean Mark Callous (The Undertaker). Pillman always played the underdog part well and he had such a great repertoire of moves. Despite high flyers not being my absolute favorite style of wrestlers, I still admire and respect anyone with athletic ability of that kind. As the 90s proceeded, his disposition changed into the "Loose Cannon" persona that was undoubtedly cultivated during his time with Steve Austin in the Hollywood Blondes, that was such a great pairing and it was one of my favorite teams of the 1990s. Thinking of that tandem makes me long for that same dynamic which I think is missing in today's landscape save for the few good teams that I see from time to time in TNA.
Continuing on with Brian Pillman, when fate sadly intervened and Pillman had his near fatal car accident, his style greatly changed for understandable reasons. However, his Roddy Piper-esque role of hosting his own interview segment in the mid-90s that started with ECW and then segued into the WWF was a great way for him to continue to have a role in wrestling that gave him exposure that a part time wrestling role would not have. It's unfortunate his career got cut so short with his untimely passing. But I feel to any hardcore wrestling fan, the WWE would be paying them the ultimate respect by including Brian Pillman this year considering the fact that WM is going to be in WCW's old stomping grounds. Pillman's contributions to the promotions light heavyweight/cruiserweight division should make him an automatic candidate. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Rick Rude: Rude would reach his greatest heights with WCW and The Dangerous Alliance.
Another awesome pick, in addition to what you just said he also defeated Sting and Ric Flair on separate occasions to become WCW International World Champion (Which to those who may not remember the WCW International World Title was a result of NWA and WCW severing ties but WCW still owning the Big Gold Belt) I know to some folks the WCW International World Title might seem like a fading memory but the Big Gold Belt that you see today in WWE as the World Heavyweight Championship, represented this title and it was arguably an unofficial precursor to the two World Title system that WWE institutes today with the RAW and SmackDown divisions.
Rude's role as a bodyguard for DX and nWo which led to his being on RAW and Nitro the same night might not have given Vince the warm and fuzzies, but it was a classic moment to be sure! Rude's other career highlights like beating the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania V, his infamous bit where he'd select a lady from the audience to well "ravish", pardon the pun was also memorable and led to one of his other memorable feuds with Jake Roberts, his time in the Jim Crockett Promotions winning tag gold with Manny Fernandez in addition to what you already said about the Dangerous Alliance are all prime reasons to put him in, which again like I said was long overdue! Another fine pick!
Vader: A pure monster in the ring that was sought by companies all over the world not only for his brutal and stiff style but also his ability to do things that big men didn't really do i.e. his Vadersault
Absolutely! Vader was an excellent heel and an outright behemoth, I enjoyed watching him in WCW and going through some of his matches in Japan, his insane stiff shot exchange with Stan Hansen was just sheer awesomeness. Getting back to his time in WCW, there was just so much devastation that he left in his wake. Going through guys like Tom Zenk, ripping off Mick Foley's ear, taking out Nikita Koloff and his World Title feud with Sting was classic.
I personally wish his feud with Hulk Hogan was booked a lot better, but at that time in WCW's history, Hogan was the guy that had his say on a lot of things. In the long run WCW's business benefited from Hogan since they were on the verge of turning him heel, but in the short term I hated seeing Vader not benefit from feuding with Hogan, like he should have. But despite that, Vader did have a promising start and while it wasn't what I hoped it would be, he still had some entertaining matches against guys like The Undertaker, Sid and Shawn Michaels. WWF had the chance to repair any perceived damage that the Hogan feud had left him with but they unfortunately did not.
But if there was ever a more fitting time to honor the man called Vader, WrestleMania XXVII weekend would be the time to do it.
Dean Malenko: The Man of 1000 holds was a staple in the cruiser weight division. Unlike the high flyers, he would just tie his opponent in great mat wrestling.
It would be a nice gesture to add Malenko into the Hall of Fame, while he's not my absolute favorite on my list of choices. I would see nothing wrong with inducting him. He's served the company long after retiring and he was easily one of the greatest Cruiserweights WCW ever had, plain and simple. Feuding with and aligning alongside peers like Benoit and Guerrero enabled Malenko to showcase his talents as a performer.
His feud with Rey Mysterio who was fresh off his run in ECW was a great backdrop to other storylines going on in WCW like the beginning of the nWo. That was a special time in wrestling and while you had the glitz and glamour of the nWo running roughshod you had some really basic and hard hitting ring action with guys like Dean Malenko taking part in the Cruiserweight division of WCW. His subsequent feud with Chris Jericho was another great chapter in both men's careers and I think arguably helped solidify the reasons why both had future stints in the World Wrestling Federation.
Steiner Brothers: A team that would be known all over the world and to this day is still mentioned when fans discuss great teams. Title holder in WWE, WCW and in Japan. Remember seeing a man Scott's size pulling off the Frankesteiner ? Rick with the whole Dog Face Gremlin bit was great and memorable.
If I had my way most definitely, I have fond memories of The Steiners taking on Doom (Ron Simmons and Butch Reed) for the tag straps and their just sheer brutal nature as a tandem. No one could stop these two, it seemed. In his Pre-Big Poppa Pump days, Scotty Steiner amazed me with his ability to just catch a guy with the Frankensteiner and crash him down to the mat. And Rick's top rope bulldog in cohesion with Scott was an awesome finishing maneuver. You knew when watching a tag team match you were never disappointed.
I remember fondly, when Rick and Scott were US Tag Team Champions and they beat the Freebirds for the World Tag Team Titles on WCW's Saturday Morning program, the Power Hour.
As singles competitors both were greatly successful too. With Scott of cours winning WCW's version of the grand slam by holding the World, US, TV and Tag Titles with brother Rick winning the same championships except for the World Title.
Their WWF stint also deserves to be regarded with merit as they held the tag titles there and had some very good matches against Money, Inc., The Headshrinkers and The Hart Brothers (Check out the Hart and Soul DVD for this, it was an awesome bout!) Their accomplishments in Japan were also another great showing.
All in all, it'd be an injustice to not include the Steiners in the 2011 Hall Of Fame, especially with Atlanta being the locale.
Great Muta: Another great performer that more then made up for his lack of size in his style.
Like Nick Bockwinkel and Verne Gagne, it'd be great to see another non-WWF/E stalwart be inducted. With Muta's track record as an icon in AJPW and NJPW along with his memorable WCW encounters against guys like Sting, Ricky Steamboat, and Flair he's another strong candidate to induct into the Hall of Fame, especially when we are speaking of this being a WCW themed induction.
Also, despite not being a Kevin Nash or Undertaker sized competitor. He was definitely not pint sized, being that he was 6'2" and 230 lbs but I can see you point when you mention his style because boy the Muta could move in that ring, no doubt about it. His SuperBrawl III match for the NWA Title against Barry Windham is one of my personal favorites to watch.
Road Warriors: What needs to be said in regards to this Iconic team ? Scaffold Matches, Street Fights, Chain Matches, Dog Collar Matches they did it all and that was just WCW. Several time title holders in WWE and WCW that would have there ups and down but were still a dominating force no matter where they went.
While, I think in some ways the Steiners were a better team as far as athleticism and in ring ability went, The Legion of Doom/Road Warriors were my favorite just in their sheer presence and in ring intensity. Hawk and Animal are long overdue for this honor and it's an induction like Rick Rude, I would have wanted to see happen already.
2011 is a good year for it and I'm crossing my fingers for it. These guys have been everywhere in the business and have done it all. Who can forget how huge an impact they made when they finally went into the WWF and had memorable encounters with teams like the Hart Foundation, Money, Inc. and the Nasty Boys. I had longed for a better program with Demolition but considering Ax's rumored health problems and the placement of Crush in the team the concept just wasn't going to work the same way. Had the LOD shown up a year earlier, it's possible we could have seen more out of this feud. Especially when you see how Vince truly did try to make a Road Warriors like team with Demolition. That just goes to show how greatly influential Hawk and Animal were.
All in all, I definitely agree with the picks you made. Some of the other possibilities I'd like to see are Teddy Long, The Fabulous Freebirds, Sting (Even if he goes back into a role with TNA, I'd like to see Vince make an exception, after all they let RVD be in Smackdown Vs RAW 2011 despite having been with TNA for all this time), Barry Windham, Jushin Thunder Liger, and The Rock N Roll Express.
Unfortunately not all of them will be in this year, but those are definitely names I'd want to see get their place in the Hall of Fame. Overall awesome post man and thanks for motivating me to reminisce on this board!
