Since Wrestlemania XX in 2004, the WWE has held its induction ceremony into its Hall of Fame the night before Wrestlemania. For fans it is a great opportunity to see wrestlers they have loved watching since they were kids get recognized for their accomplishments. For the wrestlers, it is a moment that will remind them of all of the great things that they have done throughout their career and the entertainment that they have brought to the fans. Like in any athletic event or sport, making it into the hall of fame is the end goal of anyone who participates in that activity or sport.
Yet for every true great enshrined in the hall of fame, there are always a good number of inductees that make people ask themselves “why is he here?” For every Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin, there is an equal number of random celebrities and career midcarders, this list is designed to look at the latter. Granted the WWE acknowledges that it has a "celebrity wing" but these inductees are no Mike Tyson or Pete Rose, who actually did something memorable and helped the business.The rankings were created by looking at the credentials of the inductee, comparison to the other inductees or performers who have yet to be inducted, and overall ridiculousness of the person being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. This ranking is for those guys who make fans question the legitimacy of the WWE Hall of Fame, just by them being inductees. These are the guys who cause you to think that Vince gets really drunk before deciding on who he is going to induct into the Hall of Fame for a particular year.
So please read, enjoy, and let us know what you think in the comments section or if there are other inductees that you feel should be included in the ranking or if there is someone who you think should not be in the ranking.
10 10. The Blackjacks
Inducted in 2006 before Wrestlemania 22, The Blackjacks became the second tag team to ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza made a name for themselves in the 70s when they beat Dominic DeNucci and Pat Barrett for the WWWF Tag Team Championships, but would also hold Tag titles in WCCW and the WWA. Unfortunately, there were so many more teams that had bigger profiles that should have been inducted before the Blackjacks, including the Legion of Doom/Road Warriors, the Freebirds, and the Midnight Express.
9 9. "Baron" Mikel Scicluna
Popular in the 60s and 70s, “Baron” Mikel Scicluna is a name not even many hardcore wrestling historians would remember, but he is nonetheless a WWE Hall of Famer. While he would hold both the United States and Tag Titles once, Scicluna’s career was pretty unremarkable, at least for what someone would consider to be a Hall of Fame career. The only thing he seems to have been known for in his career was his utilization of “foreign objects” to win matches, and for being in a match with Gorilla Monsoon that led to Monsoon getting into a fight with Muhammad Ali, setting up Ali’s mixed style match against Antonio Inoki.
8 8. “Cowboy” Bill Watts
As possibly one of the most controversial inductees in the WWE Hall of Fame, “Cowboy” Bill Watts is also one of the most surprising entries into the Hall of Fame. This is due in part to his actions as a promoter for UWF and WCW where he put into place an old school mindset towards running a promotion from removing mats from the outside of the ring to banning moves from the top turnbuckle to trying to push his son Erik, all of which have left a very bitter taste in the mouths of numerous wrestlers in concern to Watts.
Another bit of controversy came during his tenure as Executive Vice President of WCW when it was revealed he had given an interview and the issue of race and sexuality came up, with Watts stating that restaurant owners should be allowed to not serve someone of another race if they don't want to. This would lead to a feud with fellow Turner Vice President Hank Aaron and Watts was soon shown the door. Maybe he's in the hall of fame just for hiring Jim Ross back in the day.
7 7. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
A lifelong midcarder in numerous promotions including the WWE and WCW, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan somehow found himself getting inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. While he was a fine worker in his time and was a wrestling mainstay for many years, he does not have the body of work which would justify getting inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. This is especially considerable when you look at the rest of his induction class which included names like Shawn Michaels, Abdullah the Butcher, and “Bullet” Bob Armstrong.
6 6. Bob Uecker
Inducted in 2010, former baseball player and play-by-play commentator Bob Uecker would find himself as a WWE Hall of Fame inductee under the “celebrity wing” of the Hall of Fame. He would be known to wrestling fans after being an announcer and backstage interviewer at both Wrestlemania III and IV, as well as being choked on screen by Andre the Giant at IV. While his bits were entertaining, unfortunately, this alone should not be enough to qualify a person for induction into the hall of fame as his work was not a huge part of the WWE product as a whole and he only had a small amount of appearances.
5 5. William “the Refrigerator” Perry
Similar to Bob Uecker and other inductees in the “celebrity wing,” William “the Refrigerator” Perry is another head scratching induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Perry literally only had one appearance inside a WWE ring when he was a part of the WWE vs. NFL battle royal at Wrestlemania 2. What’s worse is that he only eliminated one guy from the battle royal (Tony Atlas) and was eliminated 15th overall. It might make sense to induct him if he had been a larger part of the WWE, but by just having one match, he definitely should not qualify for the Hall of Fame.
4 4. Johnny Rodz
This is a case where a performer was recognized for how long he worked for the company, rather than what he accomplished for that company. A jobber for almost his entire 30-year career, Johnny Rodz was known mostly for being the guy laying face up looking at the arena lights while another performer basked in the cheers from the crowd. Rodz sets an interesting precedent for the WWE Hall of Fame regarding jobbers in long standing with the WWE, does his induction mean that someday we will see Barry Horowitz getting inducted by the Brooklyn Brawler?
3 3. Donald Trump
Inducted in 2013 before Wrestlemania XXIX, Donald Trump certainly has more credentials towards a WWE Hall of Fame induction, but they still do not merit an actual induction. Some of the notable credits the WWE has given Trump leading up to his induction include hosting Wrestlemania IV and V at Trump Plaza and being in Bobby Lashley’s corner in the “Battle of the Billionaires” match at Wrestlemania 23. Along with a couple other hosting spots and “buying” Raw from Vince McMahon, these were the reasons Trump was given a Hall of Fame ring, but when you compare Trump’s WWE footprint to that of fellow inductees from that year including Booker T, Mick Foley, and Bruno Sammartino, it really shows that he does not belong in the same hemisphere as the rest of his induction class.
2 2. Koko B. Ware
Easily the biggest head scratcher of any Hall of Fame inductee, Koko B. Ware somehow found himself in the same sentence as Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, and Bob Backlund when mentioning WWE Hall of Famers. Known for having his pet bird Frankie at ringside and flapping his arms like a bird, Koko had a pretty unremarkable career in the WWE, having a couple feuds with the likes of the Hart Foundation and Mr. Perfect, before forming a short lived tag team with Owen Hart called High Energy. In the end I honestly do not know why Koko was inducted outside of the WWE needing to fill time on the Hall of Fame broadcast.
1 1. Drew Carey
Another inductee in the long line of celebrities that had little to do with the WWE product, Drew Carey is easily the worst inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. Carey would be the first actor to participate in the Royal Rumble match, entering fifth and watching as the Hardy Boyz eliminated each other. He would be alone in the ring for the better part of a minute before Kane would enter the match and Carey would eliminate himself after Kane refused a bribe to leave Carey alone. Carey would make sporadic appearances for the WWE, mostly as a guest host, but either way that does not mean he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame to be mentioned alongside wrestling greats who worked years for the honor of being inducted.