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.

There are few wrestlers who have more legendary heel lore than Killer Kowalski.  From the time (though accidentally) he ripped the ear off Yukon Eric to terrorizing fan favorites across North America with his vicious demeanor and imposing size, few were feared more than Walter “Killer” Kowalski.   He was a constant contender for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, and though he never captured it, his legend was secure with out it.  Late in his career, he did capture the WWF World Tag Team Title with his student, Big John Studd, though few knew it was them as they were masked as the “Executioners”.  Kowalski continued training wrestlers after his in ring career was over; in fact Triple H was first trained by the imposing Polish-Canadian legend.