Is It Fair to Call The Hall of Fame A Joke?

[chunkylover53]

I know alot of people hear like to bash the WWE on everything they do(yet somehow continue to watch it) including their Hall of Fame. Some call it a joke because their guy isn't in or because you have to bow down to Vince McMahon. While some inductees are questionable(Pete Rose, Johnny Rodz etc), The Hall does have major names.

Guys like Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Andre The Giant, Dusty Rhodes, Fabulous Moolah, as well as others. When they first started the Hall of Fame, it was just a little party to celebrate old timers. Now that they brought it back they are treating it with respect.

Though it generally honors those with important WWF/E careers, they ventured out into Legends who barely have, or never worked for the company. Such names are Harley Race, Verne Gagne, and Nick Bockwinkel.

Also, if you want to bash the WWE for their Hall of Fame, you have to take other Hall of Fames into consideration, Sports or otherwise. The MLB HOF won't allow Pete Rose in for gambling, yet they have well known racists and drug addicts. The NFL Hall of Fame gets a bad rep for OJ being in it, and we all know why. I know what some of you are going to say, Jimmy Snuka killed his girlfriend and he's in it. Well in response to that, his was never proven(or even questioned) to do it and her death was ruled an accident. If he was convicted(as well as OJ) both men would be removed from their respective HOFs never to be mentioned again.

So in conclusion, I think the WWE HOF is getting better and better every year when adding more people. What do you think?

[Big Daddy Bad Booking]

I love the HOF concept for WWE. It gets old-timers the respect they deserve for helping the wrestling industry to become what it has become, and it also respects the hard work, the sacrifice, and the resilience to become the best they can be.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

The Hall of Fame is a nice idea, but it's really more of a career appreciation night. Which is fine.

[Leaving after 1,600]

Snuka killed no one the chick jumped.

[jobber2thestars]

It's not a joke, but does need improvement. Obviously, some sort of set criteria would be nice, other than being on good terms with Vince McMahon. If the WWE really wanted to give the HoF some legitimacy, a building would be needed. It doesn't have to be on par with the Baseball HoF (the best of the three I have visited), just a little museum attached to Titan Towers.

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

I see the WWE Hall Of Fame as a very clever idea of giving Wrestlemania even more prestige, so I like it in that sense- but let's be fair, it's essentially the "Hall Of Wrestling Legends On Decent Terms With Our Company".

There's also the Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame in Amsterdam, NY if the WWE's doesn't do it for you for some reason.

[Deleted]

Fridge is in but Mr T isnt? smurf the WWE Hall of Fame

[Matt Rogers]

xbb198xxx said:

Fridge is in but Mr T isnt? smurf the WWE Hall of Fame

T will be in there sooner or later.

[BxB]

It can't be a joke for me personally because guys like Hogan, Bret, Mr. Perfect, Piper are in. I consider all of them HOF worthy. Are some of the inductions questionable? Hell yes, but that's because that some of the deserving candidates are on horrible terms with Vince and WWE or they're not willing to accept an induction, even if they are inducted. That's not really Vince's fault.

[Avalanche Alvarez]

Of course not.
You're honoring someone for their hard work and all they've done.
How many multi million dollar companies NEVER do anything like that for their workers or personalities?
As long as they keep the ranks dignified (as they can), then you can't call it a joke.

[default]

I don't think it's a joke and I think WWE has done a good job since it's return of adding people that the fans want to see. Granted, there's always going to be a few celebrities or talent that the fans don't deem worthy, but for the most part, I trust WWE's views on this, even if it is just Vince making the calls, as he's been around the WWE and closer to the action than any of us had.

I still think it would be nice to see some more WCW/ECW/other talents added into the HoF overtime, possibly each one having an induction. I'd say allow someone like Dreamer to pick out an ECW talent to induct (guys like Funk, Sandman and Heyman), let a team of WCW guys (including Johnny Ace, Dean Malenko, etc.) choose a WCW guy to induct, and then have a team of guys like JR, Hayes, Rhodes, etc. choose a territorial guy to induct.

[pathogen]

I like it. I don't agree with every entrant, and there are omission I'd like to see amended, but it's pretty cool nonetheless.

[TheMediocreWarrior]

It's no more of a joke than the rest of pro-wrestling.

[machinegun]

hulkamania85 said:

It's no more of a joke than the rest of pro-wrestling.

Good point

[Mr Captain Falcon]

Where can I find a summary of Jimmy Snuka?

[Reverend BTY]

I say yes although in recent years the inductions have been better. But when Vince McMahon's driver (that Dudley guy) is in there, I say boo.

[randomranter]

At this point, yes. "Publicity Stunt" celebrities like Fridge and Pete Rose are in there, but those celebrities who actually contributed something to the business (Mr T., Cyndi Lauper) are not.

And there are quite a few old-timers in there who are questionable at best. I understand that the HOF can't be nothing but multi-year world champs like Hogan, but it shouldn't be a place for every two-bit midcarder who "paid their dues" either.

I'd list those who I don't believe belong in the hall, but outside of a couple of the obvious ones (Rodz), the boards would probably collectively lynch me for my views, as IMO some of the IWC's favorites haven't contributed enough to the business to be worthy of a HOF spot.

[hollywood]

Given the guys who probably won't ever be put in it simply because they're on bad terms with Vince McMahon and Co.--Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, Team 3-D/Dudleyz--while it may not be fair to call it a joke, it's definitely hard to take it too seriously.

[ACG2x]

If Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and others are allowed into the baseball HOF, it's a shame that Pete Rose isn't.

Agreed completely too on the fact that several hallowed HOF members were alcoholics (Mantle, Micky) or racist bigots (Cobb, Ty). I'm sure several upcoming classes will include guys who were in some way, shape or form associated with performance-enhancing drugs yet I bet a guy like Giambi who admitted to taking them will never get in based on that alone.

The problem with the WWE HOF is that to gain entry, you seem to have to be either a former big superstar or have some kind of "celebrity ratings pop" appeal AND be on good terms with Vince McMahon.

It isn't like the baseball HOF where the writers vote guys in so even if a player was not on speaking terms with Bud Selig or union head Donald Fehr, he'd still get in because the writers voted it that way.

If you are on bad terms with the McMahon family, forget it. The fact that Randy Savage is not a member of the WWE HOF is a crying shame.

[Deleted]

I just wish Bruno Sammartino would suck it up and accept the nomination that has been offered to him on more than one occasion. What is a hall of fame without the company's longest reigning champion.

As mentioned, I like the fact that guys with little or no history with the WWE are being inducted.