Billy Jack Haynes wore the colors and name of Oregon all over his ring gear, but that part was no gimmick as he was Portland born and raised. Haynes became one of the biggest stars in the Pacific Northwest Wrestling promotion and would later take that to the WWE. Haynes was strong and agile and his persona translated well to the WWE fans as he was quickly one of the more popular faces in the company. After he left wrestling, Billy Jack made multiple shoot comments that bordered on being bat shit crazy. As such any distant shot he may have had for an induction would be prevented by WWE management wanting him anywhere near a live microphone.
Although Mark Lewin never really had much to do with the WWE, he had a twenty five year plus career that saw him acquire many belts over many territories. Lewin’s start in wrestling actually dates back to the late 50’s and with his good looks he was a natural for the baby face role. Like so many wrestlers, Lewin wanted to be a heel and he developed a “Maniac” character that drew him money. He would also book in New Zealand and was a mentor to many younger wrestlers. Had Lewin’s modern televised era gone beyond his “Purple Haze” character he may be more on the radar despite his lack of direct WWE exposure.
Say what you want about Sable’s limited wrestling ability, but she is one of the select few who at her peak was more over than 95 percent of the male roster. She was the female face of the Attitude Era, and had the Women’s Championship belt reinstated essentially for her. Rena Mero will never be confused for any great (or even good) female wrestler, but they never put asses in arenas like she did. And make no mistake; a lot of people in that era DID go to see her.
There is a long list of wrestling “cowboys” who used their Texas brand of brutality to scare opponents in the ring. Bobby Duncum Sr. was one of those men, but he seemed to be overshadowed by others who had similar gimmicks. Duncum competed all over the NWA and had a run in the WWE going after Bruno Sammartino and later Bob Backlund for their respective World Heavyweight Titles. Duncum was good at what he did, but he was one of a few who looked and wrestled the same. Sadly, this makes what was a very good wrestler easy to forget.