gold star for USAHOF

A look at the inductors for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012

We are a week away from Wrestlemania, and as such close to the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony.  Overall, we are very happy with this class, but even happier with whom will be doing the inductions.

The main attraction will be the induction of Adam Copeland, otherwise known as Edge.  The former multi time Heavyweight Champion is being inducted much sooner than expected, but following a career ending injury it was clear that it was time for him to retire.  A week after he did so, Edge appeared in from of a Smackdown crowd where they spontaneously chanted "Hall of Fame".  We could be wrong, but this appears to be the first time that this chant was ever uttered on WWE Television by its fans.  To us, this was the moment that the WWE Hall of Fame was truly accepted by its fanbase as the logical conclusion to a wrestling career.  Perhaps the WWE agreed, as Edge will be entering the Hall of Fame a year after he was forced to retire.

He will be inducted by the only logical choice.  His closest friend, long time tag team partner and current WWE Superstar, Christian will be doing the honors.  There is no other person it should be.

The most interesting choice for us in this year's Class is the Four Horsemen.  It is not because they don't deserve induction, but it is the first time that a collective group will be inducted.  It also marks the first two-time inductee (Ric Flair), who also will be the first active TNA competitor inducted.  There have been multiple incarnations of the Horsemen, and rather than induct all members, they have chose one specific group: Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham and J.J. Dillon.

This was not the first version (it was actually the third), but many felt that this was the best collection of in ring workers that the group had.    Anderson, Blanchard and Windham were all highly ranked on our Notinhalloffame WWE List and although we would prefer to see them all get in individually, we are happy that they still will be inducted.

This has led to many to speculate that other Horsemen were snubbed.  Ole Anderson was an excellent worker, but bad blood exists between him and Vince McMahon over the purchase of the Georgia territory decades ago.  Ole has been very public about his dislike for McMahon, and even if he did get inducted, there was no way the stubborn Anderson would ever accept it.  This is one of those cases where when a wrestler says that he doesn't care about the WWE Hall of Fame, we believe him.  Selfishly, we would have loved to have seen Ole as part of the group.

Lex Luger was part of the second Horsemen group.  We don't feel that Lex has been snubbed here as has been speculated elsewhere.  Lex was a member of the group for one year, but truthfully his greatest moments took place as a solo star away from the Horsemen.  He has been vocal about his happiness for the rest of the group and has been a class act all the way.

Sid Vicious had a run with the group too, but like Luger, his best moments did not occur as a member of the quartet, and his career is just not synonymous with the Horsemen.

Paul Roma has been vocal about feeling snubbed, but fans (and other Horsemen) have been equally vocal about viewing Roma's inclusion in the Horsemen as a low point.

Brian Pillman, Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko were all in later versions of the Horsemen, but the group was not even the top stable when they were in, and none of them are associated with the group at first thought.  Besides, Pillman has his own HOF resume, as does Malenko.  We don't need to explain why Benoit was left out.

As the first major super heel group, the Four Horsemen laid the blueprint as to how top heels could run a company.  The selection of Dusty Rhodes, who fought the Horsemen throughout the late 1980's is the perfect choice to induct them. 

Mike Tyson (the first celebrity inductee that we completely agree with) will be inducted by Triple H and Shawn Michaels.  Tyson was associated with the pair as part of DX in the months leading up to Wrestlemania XIV, however we would have preferred his rival in that time, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin doing the inducting. 

Mexican legend, Mil Mascaras will be inducted by his nephew, Alberto Del Rio.  There is no better choice here.

Ron Simmons will be inducted by his long time friend and tag team partner, John Bradshaw Layfield.  Again, there is no better choice for an inductor.

The late Yokozuna will be inducted by family members and current WWE Superstars Jimmy and Jey Uso along with their father Rikishi.  Rikishi is a great choice, and we do like how they are incorporating current performers (The Usos) for the ceremony. 

Overall, we would like to give the WWE praise for these selections and we are looking forward to the ceremony.  Congratulations again to those who will be joining the Hall of Fame.

Last modified on Thursday, 19 March 2015 18:47
Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] . Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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