With all of the Hall of Fame related news being about the physical buildings shutting down, it is nice to talk about something else for a change.
In an interview with Tokyo Sports, Jushin “Thunder” Liger said that he will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. This was confirmed by the WWE later today.
Born Keiichi Yamada, Liger made his debut in 1984, and after wrestling around the world, he took on the Liger persona in 1989. Immediately, he took over the Junior Heavyweight division, and was renowned for his innovative high-flying style.
Liger would win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title eleven times, and would also with the unifying J-Crown in 1996. Tournament wise, he won the Best of the Super Juniors three times. North American fans were treated to Liger in WCW, where he won the Light Heavyweight Title from Brian Pillman.
He officially retired from wrestling at this year’s Wrestle Kingdom show at the Tokyo Dome.
In the WWE umbrella, Liger only wrestled once. He beat Tyler Breeze at one of their Takeover shows in 2015.
In our last update of the Notinhalloffame WWE list, Liger was ranked 28 of those to consider for the WWE Hall of Fame.
We will be revising out list after Wrestlemania (if it happens).
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Liger for obtaining this honor.
As the Coronavirus spreads across the world, the Halls of Fame are closing along with it.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, announced today that it is closed as of today, with a potential reopening planned on March 27.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame, located an hour south of the Rock Hall in Akron, will be closed on the 16thof March, and like the Rock Hall, is pegging March 27 as the day that the doors may open again.
In Cooperstown New York, the Baseball Hall will close its doors tomorrow indefinitely.
The Country Music Hall in Nashville, Tennessee, closes on the 16thwith the 31stslated as a potential date for patronage to resume.
In Toronto, Canada, the Hockey Hall closed today and has a scheduled reopening of April 6.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, was already closed for renovations. It is not scheduled to reopen until May, 1.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com, remain open!
Coronavirus is affecting our little niche in the Hall of Fame world, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced that this year’s induction ceremony has been postponed indefinitely. There is no date set for a possible rescheduling.
In a statement with Rolling Stone, Rock Hall President had this to say:
“We are very disappointed to announce the postponement of this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Our first concern is to the health and safety of our attendees and artists and we are complying to the direction of the local and state authorities and common sense. We look forward to rescheduling the ceremony and will make that announcement at the earliest convenience.”
The virus has caused cancellations of concerts, sports leagues and the shutdown of theme parks. Wrestlemania is still scheduled next month in Tampa, as is the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. We expect that to be cancelled soon.
It was announced today that Del Shofner passed away in his home. He was 85 years old.
Playing his college ball at Baylor, the Los Angeles Rams chose Shofner with the 11thpick overall in the 1957 Draft. Shofner was used mostly as a Defensive End as a rookie, but he would play a lot more on the offensive side of the ball afterward. He would be a First Team All-Pro in both 1958 and 1959 and won the Receiving Yards Title in the former year with 1,097 Yards.
Shofner joined the New York Giants in 1961, and that year, and the two seasons after he was a First Team All-Pro. In all three of those campaigns, he would break the 1,000 Yard mark. He would go to five Pro Bowls over his career.
Shofner retired in 1967 and would accumulate 6,470 Yards with 51 Touchdowns. He is ranked #78 on our latest list of those to consider for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family at this time.