The WWE has announced that Hillbilly Jim will be part of this year's 2018 Hall of Fame class, which already includes The Dudley Boyz, Goldberg, Ivory and Jeff Jarrett. The news was formally announced on Twitter:
This induction is bound to surprise quite a few - as was the case with both Goldberg and Jarrett. The former had a forgettable first run with the WWE, then came back to wrestle three more matches - the last being a Universal Championship loss to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33.
In the case of Jarrett, he last competed with the WWE in 1999 - and later joined the rival WCW promotion. After that, Jeff and his father Jerry founded the TNA (know Impact Wrestling), rival company.
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But Goldberg and Jarrett at least had lengthy and very storied wrestling careers, whereas Hillbilly Jim was used for comedic relief. He never won a wrestling championship and had a very short WWE career, which lasted from 1984 to '90.
Hillbilly Jim never entered the main event picture, being used primarily as a mid-card superstar for his humor. His entrance theme song was catchy, and fans got a kick out of watching the bearded, overalls-donning giant provide hilarious promos and segments.
Considering that Hillbilly Jim hasn't wrestled for the WWE in nearly 30 years, it makes his entry that much more shocking and tough to understand. But for the '70s and '80s kids who sang "Don't Go Messin' With a Country Boy," we're sure many of them are happy to see Jim in the Hall of Fame.
During the 1986 Slammy awards, Jim even performed his own wrestling theme in front of a live audience. Perhaps his popularity with the crowd made WWE officials decide it was time to enshrine the Hillbilly into the Hall of Fame.
Hillbilly Jim joins a group of stacked superstars going to the Hall of Fame. If he's not the last person to get inducted this year, fans can only wonder who's next. Perhaps The Goon or Duke 'The Dumpster' Droese are soon to follow.