With Verne Gagne inducted the year before, the stage was set for Nick Bockwinkel to enter the Hall.  The five time former AWA World Heavyweight Champion spent the bulk of his career working for Verne.  Bockwinkel was a brilliant wrestler, but he was set apart from his peers by his cerebral interview style which showcased a quiet arrogance.  A true ring general, Bockwinkel definitely deserved the accolade once the WWE Hall of Fame opened its doors to performers who competed primarily under the AWA flag.

The son of AWA stalwart, Larry “The Ax” Hennig; Curt Hennig managed to eclipse the very large shadow that his father cast over him.  Hennig captured the AWA World Title in the late 80’s, but he made his mark nationally when he joined up with the WWE and added the “Mr. Perfect” moniker.  He was a natural to fill that name, as he truly did execute every in ring move “perfectly”.  There was little he couldn’t do in the ring, and he if he couldn’t do it, it wasn’t worth seeing.  Sadly, his induction was posthumous as he passed away four years prior.

The tuxedo clad manager was not just the manager of champions, he was quite a successful one himself.  On five separate occasions, the devious Mr. Fuji was one half of the WWF World Tag Team Champions and did so clad in Japanese flags to antagonize American crowds.  Fuji was actually American born, but he played the so part so well fans would never have believed it.

The long time announcer for the UWF, NWA, WCW and the WWE is considered by many (us included) to be the finest announcer in wrestling history.  Why Jim Ross isn’t announcing on a regular basis now is a crime to us and a multitude of other wrestling fans.  This is one of our favorite inductions.