(“Flyboy” Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge)

Although it is hard to disagree that the WWE tenure of the Public Enemy was not a complete failure, “Flyboy” Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge were the first true homegrown stars of Paul Heyman’s ECW.  In many ways they were the guys who set the tone of the Philadelphia based promotion and were responsible for many of their early highlights.  They were not necessarily the innovators of using tables, but they certainly popularized it.  Although they failed in the WWE, they did make a bit of a dent in WCW.  As all their work is relatively current and part of the WWE video library, they could have a future renaissance.

Terry Taylor had a nice little career going for him.  He won many regional titles and was considered one of the better workers in professional wrestling; and then he went to the WWE.   Terry Taylor was dubbed the Red Rooster, and after a sub par heel run under the management of Bobby Heenan he went to gimmick hell with the middle section of his hair spiked up red like a rooster’s comb and literally crowing to the ring.  He was still a great wrestler, but after he left the WWE and returned to WCW, he would also be called the “rooster” by fans.  Taylor has done a lot of behind the scenes work in wrestling promotions (including the WWE) and should he ever be hired back there in any capacity, perhaps he could sneak into the Hall.  After calling Terry Taylor, “The Red Rooster” perhaps they could give him that.

Trained by Karl Gotch, Akira Maeda definitely seemed to have the intention to change the world of Professional Wrestling.  Maeda disliked the worked style of wrestling and sought to bring a more realistic style to the ring.  Maeda was a big part of the origin of three pseudo shoot promotions in Japan (UFI, UWFI and RINGS) and was himself a big draw in Japan and used his excellent ring work to inspire a new generation of wrestlers and wrestling fans.  Maeda may have loved shooting too much as his actions against Andre the Giant, Riki Choshu & Satoru Sayama are legendary.  Still, he did have a run with the WWE in 1984, so he is not an unknown to WWE brass.

Professional Wrestling may have a predetermined outcome, but athleticism has its place there.  This makes it all the more surprising that Butch Miller and Luke Williams really made it in the business after the age of forty.  Prior to their appearance in Stamford, they were known as the Sheepherders; a team known for their violent and bloodthirsty tactics.  In the WWE, Williams and Miller became the Bushwhackers, a comedy based tag team who never threatened for tag team gold but were one of the most over tag teams during their long duration there.  This type of long term popularity could earn them a Hall of Fame slot.