One of the highest honors — and one of the last ones — WWE can give to its long-time performers and veterans is the WWE Hall of Fame. Created in 1993, the first recipient was Andre the Giant, and in the years since inductees include legends like Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino, groups like the Four Horsemen and D-Generation X, and even celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger and William Shatner.

RELATED: The 10 Most Controversial WWE Hall Of Fame Inductions Ever

However, there are also crucial WWE figures who seemingly won’t ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame. There are various reasons for this, but the most common include being on bad terms with the company, being too controversial to glorify, or simply because the potential inductee refuses to agree to it. Let’s take a look at 10 of these.

9 Earl Hebner

Referee Earl Hebner

One of the most well-known referees of all time, Earl Hebner is an obvious choice for a Hall of Fame induction, especially because referees in WWE are so rarely named on screen these days. Hebner was part of some classic moments over the years, including the incident involving his real-life twin brother Dave, and reffing the Montreal Screwjob.

Despite all that, the Hebner twins were fired from WWE in 2005 for selling official merchandise without permission. In the time since, Earl Hebner has gone on record with the belief that the bad blood is way too strong for him to ever be inducted.

8 Bill Demott

former WWE coach Bill DeMott

A WCW jobber turned WWE jobber under names like “Hugh Morrus” and “General Hugh E. Rection,” the in-ring career of Bill DeMott is largely unimportant in the grand scheme of pro wrestling. However, DeMott proved himself a major figure in WWE developmental, becoming a head coach for Deep South Wrestling, Florida Championship Wrestling, and NXT — that is, until myriad accusations of abuse by various wrestlers surfaced.

DeMott resigned from his position but denied all accusations and WWE claimed they found no wrongdoing after an investigation, but it’s unlikely DeMott will get a Hall of Fame ring, as the announcement would generate way too much controversy.

7 Scott Steiner

Scott Steiner cuts a promo on WCW Monday Nitro

Setting aside his current notoriety as a living meme machine, Scott Steiner is certainly an accomplished veteran of the business. Not only is a multi-time tag team champion alongside his brother Rick in WWE, WCW, and beyond, but he also found success as a singles star. So why wouldn’t he be Hall of Fame Material?

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For one thing, Big Poppa Pump’s 2003-2004 WWE run was rife with backstage drama between Steiner and Triple H. And, in the ensuing years, Scott Steiner has openly trashed both WWE and its Hall of Fame, so it’s likely he would turn it down even if they asked.

6 Demolition

demolition-ax-smash

As the tag team Demolition, Ax and Smash were Road Warriors ripoffs who were popular with WWE fans until the real Animal and Hawk showed up, but also spent nearly three decades as the longest reigning tag team champions ever, with a 478-day run. They seem like obvious choices for the Hall of Fame, but politics have made this an unlikely possibility, as Demolition entered a big class action suit against WWE over CTE and other brain injury issues. To erase their legacy, WWE went as far as having New Day beat their record tag title reign in 2016.

5 Vince Russo

Vince Russo

A WWE Magazine editor turned backstage creative writer, Vince Russo is considered one of the architects of the Attitude Era, as his penchant for edgy, in-your-face content helped bring WWE to ridiculous amounts of success in the late 1990s. That said, it’s unlikely that he’ll ever be in the Hall of Fame. In discussing the matter himself, Russo felt that WWE would never ask him, and he’d never accept even if they did, as he doesn’t actually care about the wrestling business and doesn’t need the validation of Vince McMahon.

4 CM Punk

CM Punk in AEW

As evidenced by many of the figures on this list, there are loads of wrestlers who left WWE on bad terms, but none in such a public manner as CM Punk. His 2011 title feud with John Cena made waves among fans as Punk broke the fourth wall and helped usher in a new era in the company, if not pro wrestling at large.

RELATED: The 10 Best Years Of CM Punk's Career, Ranked

However, in 2014, Punk abruptly quit WWE, openly trashed them on a podcast, and entered a legal battle with the company. After a period away from performing in the ring, CM Punk is currently signed to AEW, so it doesn’t seem like there would be any interest from either side for a good long time, if ever.

3 Jack Tunney

WWE President Jack Tunney

Fans of WWE in the 1980s and 1990s may remember Jack Tunney, the on-screen President of the promotion, who would occasionally show up to lay down the law when matters between wrestlers got out of hand. In real life, Tunney was a Canadian wrestling promoter who struck a deal with WWE in the 1980s that allowed them to expand into the North, becoming an on-screen character in the process, but was unceremoniously fired in 1995 and never mentioned again. There are conflicting stories about the reasons for the bad blood, but WWE has never mentioned Tunney again — they didn’t even do the obligatory “In Memoriam” when he died in 2004.

2 Owen Hart

Owen Hart Slammys

Over the years, there have been many potential Hall of Famers who fans believed would never get inducted who eventually did, like Macho Man Randy Savage or Bruno Sammartino. Owen Hart, who tragically died in an in-ring accident in 1999, is one of the last major “holdouts,” with a 100% chance of never getting in.

Owen’s widow Martha Hart held WWE responsible for her husband’s death, entering a bitter legal battle with the company, and has since gone on record to say that she would never agree to a Hall of Fame induction, as she doesn’t want WWE to further profit off of her husband.

1 Jim Johnston

WWE composer Jim Johnston

One of the unsung heroes of WWE was Jim Johnston, who was the company’s resident composer from 1985 to 2017, during which he made countless entrance themes for wrestlers, including iconic themes for The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and even Fandango. Such a figure deserves recognition beyond fans who are in the know, but Johnston himself doesn’t think it will ever happen if it hasn’t already. On top of that, he isn’t totally cool with the idea — not only did they fire him, but there are some people with the company that he’d prefer to never see again.