The criteria for entry into the WON HOF is “a combination of drawing power, being a great in-ring performer or excelling in one’s field in pro wrestling, as well as having historical significance in a positive manner.” Candidates should have something to offer in all three of the categories mentioned or be so outstanding in one or two that they deserve inclusion.
Go ahead and make some fantasy picks, guys!
THE HISTORICAL PERFORMERS ERA CANDIDATES
Ole Anderson
Bob Armstrong
Jerry Brisco
June Byers
Haystacks Calhoun
Wild Bull Curry
Cowboy Bob Ellis
The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane & Steve Keirn)
Don Fargo
Pampero Firpo
Black Gordman & Great Goliath
Archie “Mongolian Stomper” Gouldie
Chavo Guerrero Sr.
Rocky Johnson
The Masked Interns (Jerry Hester & Billy Garrett & Tom Anderson) w/Dr. Ken Ramey
Sputnik Monroe
Blackjack Mulligan
Miguel Perez Sr.
Johnny Rougeau
Enrique Torres
Jimmy & Johnny Valiant
Von Brauners & Saul Weingeroff
Johnny “Mr.Wrestling II” Walker
THE MODERN PERFORMERS IN U.S/CANADA CANDIDATES
Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson w/J.J. Dillon
Junkyard Dog
Edge
Bill Goldberg
Scott Hall
Matt & Jeff Hardy
Kamala
Rick Martel
Kevin Nash
Randy Orton
Brian Pillman
C.M.Punk
Roman Reigns
Sgt. Slaughter
Trish Stratus
Rick & Scott Steiner
Kevin Von Erich
Kerry Von Erich
Ultimate Warrior
WRESTLING IN JAPAN CANDIDATES
Jun Akiyama
Cima
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Hayabusa
Kota Ibushi
Kyoko Inoue
Tomohiro Ishii
Tetsuya Naito
Kenny Omega
Meiko Satomura
Akira Taue
WRESTLING IN MEXICO CANDIDATES
Medico Asesino
Los Brazos (Brazo de Oro & Brazo de Plata & El Brazo)
Caristico
Sangre Chicana
Jerry Estrada
La Fiera
Karloff Lagarde
Pirata Morgan
Alberto Munoz
Huracan Ramirez
Rito Romero
WRESTLING IN EUROPE/AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND/PACIFIC ISLANDS/AFRICA
Sypros Arion
Wayne Bridges
Big Daddy
Dominic DeNucci
Billy Joyce
George Kidd
Killer Karl Kox
Mario Milano
Kendo Nagasaki
Jackie Pallo
Rollerball Mark Rocco
Johnny Saint
Ricki Starr
Adrian Street
Otto Wanz
NON-WRESTLERS
Lord James Blears
Dave Brown
Bobby Bruns
Bob Caudle
Jim Crockett Jr.
Joe Higuchi
Jim Johnston
Takaaki Kidani
Larry Matysik
Stephanie McMahon
James Melby
Don Owen
Morris Sigel
Tony Schiavone
George Scott
Kevin Sullivan
Mike Tenay
Ted Turner
Stanley Weston
Grand Wizard
Given the choices and that I can pick only what’s available on the list, I would pick Tetsuya Naito. The guy has wrestled all over the world, and still has it in Japan.
Additionally, Naito brought a popular stable over to Japan, and that counts for something.
And he’s in my age group - and still is relevant.
What happened to EVIL, Sanada, or Masahiro Chono? Have they been past nominees?
Meltzer began the Hall of Fame by choosing a list of 122 inaugural inductees in 1996. Since then, wrestlers from past and present, others employed in the professional wrestling industry, and wrestling journalists and historians have been selected by Meltzer to cast secret ballots to determine annual groups of inductees. Voting criteria include the length of time spent in wrestling, historical significance, ability to attract viewers, and wrestling ability.[1] Inductees must have at least 15 years of experience in the wrestling business or be over 35 years old and have 10 years of experience. To gain membership in the hall, potential inductees must receive 60% support on the ballots from their geographic region.[2] Any person that gets less than 10% of the vote is eliminated from the ballot. If a person fails to get inducted 15 years after being put on the ballot, they must get 50% of the vote or be eliminated.[3] There are 223 inductees, including the eight tag teams. ~ Wikipedia
Always find it weird that there isn’t a retired or inactivity restriction on wrestling HOF. Most sports have a minimum of 5 years of inactivity before being HOF eligible. I think Gretzky is the only player in the major 4 that was inducted in less then 5 years not post-mortem.
With that being said…
Ole Anderson
Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson
Hayabusa
Alberto Munoz
Otto Wanz
Jim Johnson
That’s a very good point. I think Dave shouldn’t put people on the ballot if they’re not retired yet. Even the Waterloo, Iowa museum and Hall of Fame, they still put people on eligibility when still active.
I don’t think waiting for retirement would work for pro-wrestling because many pro-wrestlers never really retire. Dave would have to wait to induct anybody until they have had a career ending injury or died. How many times has Ric Flair retired and un-retired. I think the 15 years experience works just fine.
I am not a wrestling historian but here would be my picks.
Historical
Jerry Brisco - Moreso for his backstage role for almost 40 years with WWE such as recruiting current hall of famers like Angle and Lesnar.
Ole Anderson - The four horseman are still recognized as one of the most well know stables of all time. It’s astonishing that only Flair is already in the WON HoF.
Modern
Kerry Von Erich - If you mention pro-wrestling to anyone Gen-x or older in Dallas they mention the Von Erich’s before any other Texas wrestling legends like Austin or Undertaker. They were an institution around here. And Kerry was by far the most well know and successful. Maybe his fame and drawing power wasn’t enough nationally to have been inducted yet. But he would definitely get my vote.
Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson w/ JJ Dillon - Again let’s induct all four horseman. Arn in particular has had a lasting impact on the industry with his work backstage.
Bill Goldberg - Of everyone else in the “Modern” wrestling list Golberg was the biggest draw. His in-ring skills aren’t great but they fit the character perfectly. He was WCW’s greatest product and absolutely a star at Austin’s level for a little while until WCW and then WWE squandered it.
Non-Wrestlers
Jim Crockett Jr - While JCP eventually went bankrupt while he was running it the various promotions and shows he did run in the 80’s helped find a lot of stars and put wrestling on cable.
Tony Schiavone - One of the greatest pro-wrestling commenters ever. It’s especially evident right now with his career resurgence in AEW where you have both JR and Tony on commentary and Tony is by far the superior commentator today.
Ted Turner - I don’t think Ted ever appeared on a wrestling broadcast. But his support of the industry by giving it coveted timeslots and purchasing WCW was massive.
While I like your list Kota has to be number 1. Unless you just argue to wait until he’s done his career he’s far above KVE and others in every imaginable way
For those of you who are Observer subscribers, I would recommend listening to this past week’s Observer radio podcasts with Garrett, Dave and special guest Mike Tenay. They recorded 2 podcasts analyzing this year’s ballot. Gives you a college history class in pro wrestling.
My original post just included my top picks. Your list can look different.
But I agree Kota should be in the WON Hall of Fame. In fact I think just about everybody on the list should be. I’m not a fan of being very exclusive with these things. Many of them destroyed their bodies for our entertainment and should be rewarded with as many accolades as possible.
How is Roman Reigns on the list? He’s only been wrestling for ten years. Out of all the Shield guys I would put Seth and Mox in before him and they have both been doing it the required 15 years.