WWE
Compared to the other Halls of Fame that we discuss on our website, this one is hands down the most fun and the hardest to calculate. Keep in mind, that there is no actual WWE Hall of Fame where fans can go and see their heroes. There are no set criteria to get in the WWE Hall of Fame. Wins and losses don’t exactly matter when the matches are predetermined. It does not even seem to matter if you even wrestled for the WWE as some of their inductees never drew a paycheck from Stamford. This is as subjective as they come so with that we made a criterion of our own which did incorporate (in no particular order) impact, ability, innovation championships won, legacy and their use in the WWE. The only two rules we set was that the wrestler in question was not currently an active competitor on a full-time basis unless that wrestler was 46 or over. Once a wrestler becomes 46 that individual moves from the Futures to the Main List at the time of revision.Until Then, Whatcha gonna do when Notinhalloffame.com runs wild on you!
Sincerely,
The Not in Hall of Committee.
While Johnny Saint never made a name in North America, those who followed professional wrestling on an international scope were certainly aware of the wrestling skill of Johnny Saint, regarded as one of the best technical wrestlers of his or any generation. If the WWE Hall of Fame goes by pure skill, he would be a lock. Of course we…
Without speaking any English, “The Japanese Buzzsaw”, Yoshihiro Tajiri got himself over in both the original ECW and the WWE. With a high skilled moveset and undeniable charisma, it can be argued that Tajiri was not given the proper forum to prove his worth in the WWE, but he always got a pop everywhere he went.
It may be forgotten that Matt Borne was at the first Wrestlemania in a losing effort to Ricky Steamboat, but his first WWE run was largely forgettable anyway. Borne had previously competed in Pacific Northwest Wrestling and would later do well in World Class and the USWA but he would later prove his worth on a National scale as Big…
Had the Great Sasuke signed with the WWF (and not TAKA Michinoku) in the summer of 1997, how much higher up the rankings would he be? The WWF was planning to build a division around him, but even though his WWF legacy is two matches (both wins over TAKA), he leaves behind an exciting body of work in Japan that…
The former wife of Dustin Rhodes (Goldust), Terri Runnels had a lengthy stint in the WWF as the valet of her husband. Initially known as Marlena, she would go through various roles as an evil valet and later a backstage interviewer. While she was never a competent in-ring worker, she was a viable entertainer and perhaps is worth a look…
At the top of the card for years in Mexico and the border states, Alfonso Dantes was a tank of a wrestler (hence his nickname of El Tanque) and was also a second generation performer. Dantes was predominantly a heel and the unmasked wrestler (not exactly common in Mexico) feuded with every top star in Mexico in his day. He…
Wrestling can be a bit of a freak show, and some of the cast of characters actually can be described as freaks. One of the earliest men in that category was "The French Angel," Maurice Tillet who stood at only 5'9" but developed acromegaly in his early 20's causing his bones to grow and his features to alter. He got…
Originally ranked by Notinhalloffame.com separately, we thought we would see how “Jumping” Jim Brunzell and B. Brian Blair would fare on this list as a tag team, as with the possible exception of the Rockers, this could be the highest profile tag team that did not win the WWF/E Tag Team Championship.
From the carnival era, John Pesek forewent his initial dream of boxing for the world of professional wrestling. Pesek was not often the largest man, but his dexterity and cunning earning him the nickname of the “Tiger Man” and he would eventually become the World Champion. Pesek was also known within the inner circle for being a true “hooker” as…
The Crush Gals only wrestled a handful of times in the United States but in Japan they became the most popular and biggest draw of women’s wrestling in Japan. They were not the first female Japanese tag team to become successful, but they hit levels of popularity that haven’t been seen by any female combatant before or since. Chigusa Nagayo…
The last WWE run of Matt Bloom as “Tensai” may not have gone down in the annals of professional wrestling as a success, but prior to that, he was tearing it up in New Japan as Giant Bernard, and did have occasional mid card success as Albert and later A-Train in the WWE. What might seriously help Bloom’s chances is…
In WCW, Mark Canterbury and Dennis Knight wrestled as the Texan duo of Shanghai Pierce and Tex Slazenger, a mid level heel tag team that rarely picked up the big win. The pair migrated (kayfabe) to Arkansas when they joined the WWE and became hog farmers – The Godwins. The hillbilly gimmick may have seemed dated, but they got it…
The Great Kabuki may have only competed one match for the WWE (The Royal Rumble in 1994) but he had competed in multiple promotions in the United States long before his lone match for Vince McMahon. Kabuki was of course always cast as a heel (as all Japanese or like looking performers were from his era), but he holds the…
As one of the top draws of New Japan, Shinya Hashimoto won numerous titles and successfully wrestled a hybrid of stiff pre-MMA style wrestling and the technical Japanese wrestling style that dominated the country. Hashimoto may have looked like a fat version of Japanese Elvis, but his in ring work had few equals and he was a top draw of…
It is hard to imagine that Dick “The Bulldog” Brower could ever be a good guy, but that was how he started in wrestling. It was not long before the promoters looked at the man who though was short in stature, had a wild look in his eye and the demeanour of….a bulldog. Brower would become a mid to upper…
One of the longest tenured employees in the history of the WWE, the seemingly ageless Lillian Garcia has ring announced more matches than anyone else with the exception of WWE Hall of Famer, Howard Finkel. Garcia used her singing skills to sing the National Anthem and America the Beautiful, most notably the latter at two Wrestlemanias.
The first WWWF Heavyweight Champion, Buddy Rogers was an early entry to the WWE Hall of Fame, which he should have been. Rogers had a manager, Bobby Davis, who was his “Bobby Heenan”, though he is not remembered nearly on the same level.
For a time in the 1990’s, there were wrestling fans and journalists alike decreeing Manami Toyota as the best professional wrestler in the world regardless of gender. Toyota was a true star in Japan and is the recipient of nine five star matches from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and the winner of any Japanese women’s title worth having in the…
A top contender for Bruno Sammartino’s first WWWF World Heavyweight Championship, the Netherlands born, German billed, Hans Mortier was a solid heel for the organization throughout the 1960’s. While that was the run in which he would be known most for, Hans Mortier was an international star and his rough exterior and shoot style made him a great heel everywhere…
Some have argued that Chris Adams’ greatest contribution to wrestling was training a young Steve Austin. We will argue against it as the “Gentleman” was a major star in World Class and a part of the some of the most memorable angles of that promotion’s history. With his spectacular “superkick” and ability to work as a pure baby face or…