Between wrestlers, celebrities, and Warrior awards, the hallowed (currently) non-existent halls of the WWE Hall Of Fame houses 204 total inductees. The Hall was opened in 1993 with a video package dedicated to the passing of the late and great Andre The Giant. The induction ceremony has of course become a staple of WrestleMania weekend. Fans from all across the world descend upon the event’s host city, they also love coming out to the Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony and paying homage to wrestling’s past legends.
Fans have debated for years who should be a part of the Hall and who shouldn’t. But just like the current product, the Hall Of Fame is generally for an audience of one – the Chairman. Here are 5 Wrestlers Who Should Be In The Hall Of Fame (& 5 Who Never Deserved It).
10 Should Be In - The British Bulldogs
As the WWE expanded into the Great White North, Vince had made play for Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling and got the library and the cooperation of the Hart family. In return, Stu asked that Vince take his boy Bret and his extended family, son-in-law’s Davey Boy and Jim Neidhart, along with Davey Boy’s cousin, the Dynamite Kid. The British Bulldogs were one of the most innovated and memorable tag teams of the early expansion era. After Dynamite left, Davey Boy carried on the name. Aside from the backstage turmoil, in the ring, there was seldom two better athletes, who both still inspire wrestlers to this very day.
9 Never Deserved It - Goldberg
Sure, it is currently en vouge to rag on Bill Goldberg, but the guy doesn’t seem to really enjoy the business that much, does he? No matter your opinions on that topic, or his recent feuds with Dolph Ziggler and Matt Riddle, the guy was reckless in the ring. Thanks to being poorly trained and easily manipulated in the political landmines of WCW, he wound up knocking Bret Hart straight into retirement and occasionally made a fool of himself and the business, by calling out other company stars on late night TV.
8 Should Be In - Brian Pillman
Before he arbitrated becoming the hottest thing in all three promotions of the nineties, Flyin’ Brian Pillman helped to revolutionize Cruiserweight wrestling in America. He worked for NWA and WCW becoming one of their biggest babyfaces. He then along with Steve Austin formed the Hollywood Blonds and became hot heels feuding with Flair and Anderson. All of this before he became the Loose Cannon and turned heads in WCW and ECW before landing in the WWE.
7 Never Deserved It - Kid Rock
There are several celebrities in the WWE ring that some might call into question why they’re in there. But Kid Rock takes the cake. Why is there? Because wrote a few original songs that the WWE optioned for their superstars or videos. “Lonely Road Of Faith” is certainly a great song and wonderful tribute to the history of the WWE. But David Sahadi put the video together, not Rock. He performed at a few shows, including WrestleMania 25, but other than that, Kid Rock hasn’t done much other than being a big fan.
6 Should Be In - Owen Hart
Every WWE fan knows why the Rocket isn’t in, but that doesn’t mean that Owen Hart shouldn’t be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame someday. His widow Martha wants nothing to do with the company or her kids to have anything to do with it, and the company has respected her wishes for twenty years and will continue to do so. Inside the ring and outside of the ring, the King Of Harts was able to put on clinics of matches and legendary ribs that fans and wrestlers that knew him still talk about to this very day.
5 Never Deserved It - Koko B. Ware
As one of the bigger midcard stars of the Expansion Era, Koko B. Ware is usually the first name thought of on lists like this. He was inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 2009 for his contributions, but some fans think that he is one of the lesser worthy inductees.
Other than dancing around the ring with his pet bird, Frankie he didn’t put on many memorable matches. But he didn’t have to, it wasn’t his role to play, he had to go out there and entertain and he did. On pure wrestling ability, The Birdman doesn’t necessarily deserve the spot.
4 Should Be In - Eric Bischoff
There’s no denying the impact that Eric Bischoff had on the wrestling industry - it’s why he was at least offered the recent opportunity to run Smackdown. But even though that didn’t work out, Bischoff was the still the only guy to date to go toe-to-toe with Vince McMahon and defeat him in the ratings for 83 weeks and helped push the entire industry towards more realistic storylines and more guaranteed contracts. Plus as a character, he was such a great hate-able boss.
3 Never Deserved It - Brutus The Barber Beefcake
It’s safe to admit that some of us fans who grew up in the eighties were cuttin’ and struttin’ through their living rooms. But does Brutus make for a good Hall Of Fame candidate? If Triple H likes to talk about what happens when you “google” someone (which has clearly been lifted, since Chyna is finally in), you get things like “Hogan’s weed carrier,” and an incident from several years ago involving cocaine being mistaken as anthrax in the Boston Transit Station.
2 Should Be In - Jushin Thunder Liger
As his retirement date of January 4, 2020 looms closer, needs to honor the legacy of one of the greatest and most hard-working wrestlers of all time. With the exception of ECW (oddly enough), Jushin Thunder Liger has worked in every major (and some minor) promotion the world over.
That includes Stampede, WWE, NXT, WCW, TNA, ROH, New Japan and PWG. He’s had some of the best matches any fan has ever seen, working with the likes of the Great Muta, Rey Mysterio, Brian Pillman, Negro Casas, and Kenny Omega. The man is the very definition of living legend and Hall Of Famer.
1 Never Deserved It - The Fabulous Moolah
Former WWE Women’s Champion for 9000 years, blah blah blah; Moolah was none too Fabulous outside of the ring. Generally speaking, a lot of men and women in any Hall Of Fame weren’t very decent humans, but the stories of how abusive Moolah was to her girls is astounding. Allegations of running a prostitution ring, and even if that’s not true; several of her former charges have come forward with allegations of abuse. It’s enough to at least review her standing in wrestling history.