WON Hall of Fame 2014

[andrew8798]

That time of the year again

The names listed below are those under consideration for this year. To be eligible, a performer must have reached their 35th birthday and completed ten years since their debut as a full-time performer, or be someone who has been a full-time pro wrestler for at least 15 years.

Longevity should be a prime consideration rather than a hot two or three year run, unless someone is so significant as a trend-setter or a historical figure in the business, or valuable to the industry, that they need to be included. However, just longevity without being either a long-term main eventer, a top draw and/or a top caliber in-ring performer should be seen as relatively meaningless.

The election is broken down into a number of categories. You should check each category for wrestlers that you feel you are familiar enough with based on geography that you've either traveled or are familiar with, and based on the time you have followed pro wrestling. You do not have to vote for a wrestler in every category you've checked.

The ballot is also broken down to wrestlers and those who are not pro wrestlers but have been valuable parts of the industry.

The maximum number of wrestlers that you can vote for all the categories is ten. You can pick as few as zero if you don't believe anyone on this list deserves inclusion.

For wrestling executives, managers, announcers and other outside the ring performers, you can vote for them and they are not counted against the ten. You can vote for as many as five of them.

All responses are confidential. There is nothing to worry about politically about any involvement in this process. Your selections will not be revealed unless you choose to do so yourself.

Anyone who receives mention on 60% of the ballots from the geographical region and time frame (broken down as Continental United States & Canada; Mexico; Japan; Europe; and Hawaii/Australia/New Zealand) will be added to the Hall of Fame in the class of 2014.

In addition, in following the lead of the baseball Hall of Fame, which is the model here, starting this year we have a 15-year-rule. The following candidates have been on the ballot since 2000. In baseball, this would be their last year of eligibility. Here, if they don't get at least 50% of the votes in this year's election they will be removed from the ballot. If they are modern candidates, they can be brought back in the historical performers era in two years if it is more than 30 years since their career as a Hall Fame level performer is up:

The following candidates will be dropped from next year's ballot unless they are elected in or garner 50% of the vote:

Gene & Ole Anderson
Cien Caras
Carlos Colon
Gran Hamada
Volk Han
Owen Hart
Gorilla Monsoon
Fabulous Moolah
Pedro Morales
Dick Murdoch
Rock & Roll Express
Seiji Sakaguchi
Jimmy Snuka
Wilbur Snyder
Jesse Ventura

I FOLLOWED THE HISTORICAL PERFORMERS ERA CANDIDATES
Gene & Ole Anderson
The Assassins (Joe Hamilton & Tom Renesto)
Red Bastien
June Byers
Pepper Gomez
Dick Hutton
Pedro Morales
Ciclon Negro
Kinji Shibuya
Wilbur Snyder
John Tolos
Enrique Torres
Von Brauners & Saul Weingeroff
Tim "Mr. Wrestling" Woods
Johnny "Mr. Wrestling II" Walker

I FOLLOWED THE MODERN PERFORMERS IN U.S/CANADA CANDIDATES
Junkyard Dog
Edge
Owen Hart
Curt Hennig
Ivan Koloff
Brock Lesnar
Fabulous Moolah
Dick Murdoch
Ken Patera
C.M. Punk
Rock & Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson)
Sgt. Slaughter
Jimmy Snuka
Sting
Ultimate Warrior

I FOLLOWED WRESTLING IN JAPAN CANDIDATES
Jun Akiyama
George Gordienko
Gran Hamada
Volk Han
Masahiko Kimura
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Yuji Nagata
Seiji Sakaguchi
Mike & Ben Sharpe
Minoru Suzuki
Kiyoshi Tamura
Akira Taue

I FOLLOWED WRESTLING IN MEXICO CANDIDATES
Brazo de Oro & Brazo de Plata & El Brazo
Cien Caras
Hector Garza
Ultimo Guerrero
Karloff Lagarde
Blue Panther
L.A. Park
Huracan Ramirez
El Signo & El Texano & Negro Navarro
Vampiro
Villano III
Dr. Wagner Jr.

I FOLLOWED WRESTLING IN EUROPE CANDIDATES
Jim Breaks
Big Daddy
Giant Haystacks
Horst Hoffman
Billy Joyce
Kendo Nagasaki
Jackie Pallo
Rollerball Mark Rocco
Johnny Saint
Otto Wanz

I FOLLOWED WRESTLING IN AUSTRALIA/PACIFIC ISLANDS/CARIBBEAN/AFRICA CANDIDATES
Spyros Arion
Johnny Barend
Brute Bernard & Skull Murphy
Carlos Colon
King Kong Czaja
John DaSilva
Domenic DeNucci
Killer Karl Kox
Mark Lewin
Mario Milano
Jan Wilkens

NON-WRESTLERS
Bill Apter
Dave Brown
Jim Crockett Jr.
Jim Crockett Sr.
Gary Hart
Jimmy Hart
Howard Finkel
Jerry Jarrett
Larry Matysik
Gorilla Monsoon
Gene Okerluind
Don Owen
George Scott
Jesse Ventura
Stanley Weston

[Apricots And A Pear Tree]

Maybe now that he is not in TNA, Sting will get in.

[Been burned too many times]

Sept 6, 2014 14:08:38 GMT -5 Apricots And A Pear Tree said:

Maybe now that he is not in TNA, Sting will get in.

Sad thing is you're probably right.

Sting should have been in.

[andrew8798]

A lot of people going to drop off this year

[andrew8798]

Jimmy Harts Memphis run should get him in

[Mayonnaise]

I'm completely shocked that not only are the RNRs not in but area actually in danger of falling off the ballot. I don't get that at all.

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

I'm shocked to see the names on the list of dropping off.

[Joe Neglia]

Sept 6, 2014 22:23:26 GMT -5 Can you afford to pay me, Gah said:

I'm shocked to see the names on the list of dropping off.

Keep in mind that the WON HOF has only been going since '96, and is trying to encapsulate right at one hundred years of history and workers, with a voting system that builds bias toward and forever favors voters' "hometown" guys, even as the same system punishes and minimalizes the workers that were known for one particular "hometown" promotion.

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

Sept 7, 2014 2:44:02 GMT -5 Joe Neglia said:

Sept 6, 2014 22:23:26 GMT -5 Can you afford to pay me, Gah said:

I'm shocked to see the names on the list of dropping off.

Keep in mind that the WON HOF has only been going since '96, and is trying to encapsulate right at one hundred years of history and workers, with a voting system that builds bias toward and forever favors voters' "hometown" guys, even as the same system punishes and minimalizes the workers that were known for one particular "hometown" promotion.

I understand but there are a few names I see on that list I would said for sure locks in the hall of fame but could be drop offs which in away a shame for those who we know what there impact was.

[Square]

Sept 7, 2014 2:44:02 GMT -5 Joe Neglia said:

Sept 6, 2014 22:23:26 GMT -5 Can you afford to pay me, Gah said:

I'm shocked to see the names on the list of dropping off.

Keep in mind that the WON HOF has only been going since '96, and is trying to encapsulate right at one hundred years of history and workers, with a voting system that builds bias toward and forever favors voters' "hometown" guys, even as the same system punishes and minimalizes the workers that were known for one particular "hometown" promotion.

Do you get a ballot?

[Crappler El 0 M]

If I were able to vote, I think I'd vote for Howard Finkel and Gene Okerlund. If you are going to have announcers and broadcasters, how are these two NOT Hall of Fame worthy?

I'd have to vote for Jerry Jarrett for booking/promoting.

I'd probably vote for Jimmy Hart for his Memphis run, WWF run, and his musical contributions to wrestling.

I would probably vote for some of the tag teams, specifically the Andersons, Rock n' Roll Express, and the Assassins.

The final spots would be difficult to select.

[Square]

How the hell are Monsoon and Rollerball not in yet?! Rocco is the reason Japanese wrestling is the way it is, he inspired a generation when he was over there and he helped train this guy you may have heard of called JUSHIN LIGER

[MrElijah]

How in the blue hell the r&r express NOT in this? Tag team wrestling as it is, is because of Ricky & Robert. The rockers, hardyz & the young bucks can be seen as evolutions of the express.

[andrew8798]

Karl Stern has said if they fall off the ballot he is done with the WON HOF

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

The fact that the Andersons aren't in is a joke as well. I put no stock at all into this. It's basically on the same level as the WWE HOF, but without the occasional great induction speech you get with that HOF.

[Manute Bol]

Gorilla Monsoon
Fabulous Moolah
Pedro Morales
Rock & Roll Express

It would really be a shame to see any of these people removed from the ballot.

[Apricots And A Pear Tree]

Gorilla Monsoon not getting in would go along well with him being a 6 time winner of the Observer award for worst Television announcer.

[lildude8218]

Jimmy Snuka not being in is a joke as well.

[andrew8798]

The death of his GF will always hurt him same as with Colon

[Joe Neglia]

Yeah, Snuka's never going in.