Anyone who watched the WWF in the 80’s was entertained by the antics of Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.  He was instant heat, and the leader of the most powerful heel stables in wrestling for years.  Nobody had a quicker wit, and played the role of a backstabbing manager better.  Too many, this is the greatest manager of all time regardless of promotion.

A former WWWF Tag Team Champion as one of the masked Executioners in the late 70’s, John Studd would return to the North East unmasked and ready to assert himself as the dominant big heel of his day.  Studd was a constant threat for championships and was one of the few credible opponents for Andre the Giant.  That in itself almost equates to a Hall of Fame resume.

We always found this induction a little curious.  Not because we think that they don’t belong in the Hall, but we think they may have been better off to be inducted separately as they certainly had a longer career apart than together.  Collectively, they captured the WWF World Tag Team Title in 1974 and would win other belts nationally.  Individually, Johnny Valiant would become a successful manager in the WWF; While Jimmy Valiant would adopt the “Boogie Woogie Man” name and become a popular mid card face in the NWA.  Regardless of our opinion on the matter, The Valiant Brothers made history as the first tag team inducted.

The first ever Intercontinental Champion was a huge star in the AWA and San Francisco before he made his mark in Stamford.  Pat Patterson was a great wrestler, but it was his work behind the scenes for the WWF that made him virtually indispensable to the organization.  This is one of the few inductions that made their mark in spades both inside the ring and out.