Roundtable: WWE Hall of Fame

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, the staff debate who belongs in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Do you care about the WWE Hall of Fame?

Jack Goodwillie: I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. There has to be some measure for the all-time greats to be honored, and while The Observer Hall of Fame and Cauliflower Alley are both great clubs, they still seem to lack the buzz that the WWE Hall of Fame gets every year.

Calvin Gibbon: Yes, surprisingly. It’s a well-known fact that it’s not a real building and it may never be. In spite of that, I like to watch it. I like keeping track of who went in and if I’m being honest, I cried during DDP’s speech last year.

Anthony Mahalis: I actually kind of like the Hall of Fame. I mean I’m not dying to see who is in the class or anything, but I will generally watch induction night. I like to see older and current superstars dressed to the nines in the audience. Sometimes, you get a really entertaining speech such as Kurt Angle’s last year. They should probably have a time limit on the lesser inductees though, looking at you, Stan Hansen.

John Corrigan: Although I’ll never pay to sit and listen to people chat for three or four hours, I always watch the ceremony and hilarious red carpet special.

David Gibb: Saying “no” would be a lie, but I don’t lose sleep over the thing.

Evan Cross: Not really. I haven’t been watching long enough for it to matter for me. In 10 years, I’ll feel differently.

How do you feel about this year’s class?

Goodwillie: Top to bottom, I think it’s a fine group. Jeff Jarrett came out of left field, but as long as his mind and health are in a good place, then I think it’s a great choice. Bill Goldberg is certainly a worthy headliner, and there’s surprisingly a lot of depth here. I do think they should be limiting it to two or three inductees a year, however. Before long, they’ll oversaturate the market and the hall will lose the little prestige it does have.

Gibbon: It’s decent. Not as stacked as last years! It’s strange to see the Attitude Era stars going in now, but I’m definitely excited for Jeff Jarrett this year.

Mahalis: I’m fine with it. Don’t think it is a great class, but hey, it can’t always be. Goldberg, The Dudleys, and Ivory are obviously deserving (as long as we acknowledge Goldberg is getting in for his WCW time), but Double J seemed unnecessary. Also, shouldn’t there be a certain amount of years after you retire before you can be inducted? Special cases can be made, but Mark Henry? What did he retire like last year? He absolutely should be in the Hall at some point, but he doesn’t scream first ballot to me.

Corrigan: Weak sauce. Goldberg, the Dudleyz and Jeff Jarrett are the only deserving and intriguing entries. Mark Henry is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer like Shawn Michaels and Edge.

Gibb: I like Ivory’s and Jarrett’s inductions very much. Goldberg obviously belongs as well, as his candle, while short, burned exceedingly bright. The other inductions are all solid enough, although I don’t like how recently some of these folks were active on the main roster. I dig how the baseball hall of fame’s five-year rule gives time for the player’s career to be contextualized better and allows their legend to grow.

Cross: It’s very good, apart from Kid Rock. That overplayed “Werewolves of London/Sweet Home Alabama” song has caused me a decade of pain. I’d rather listen to “Stand Back.”

Who had the best WWE HOF speech?

Goodwillie: The Eddie Guerrero HOF speech, featuring Chavo, Benoit, Mysterio and his wife Vickie – the four people closest to him celebrating the great life he lived in wrestling stands out to me. All four shared personal, at times humorous stories, and shared with all the viewers at home exactly the kind of man Eddie was and the lessons he taught them, sometimes inadvertently. Powerful stuff.

Gibbon: So I have three favorites: First, I loved Ric Flair’s acceptance speech. It was hilarious. He’s a great story teller. Second, I cried during Diamond Dallas Paige’s speech. So that one stands out. His life story and general outlook on life is a real inspiration to me. The third person I have to mention is the late Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Thankfully, he was still able to talk back when he was inducted. The Brain was eloquent, funny, poignant and emotional. Try not to cry when Bobby brings up his best friend Gorilla Monsoon.

Mahalis: I would say either Kurt Angle or Stone Cold. I was most entertained by those two.

Corrigan: Nothing will ever touch The Brain’s rant on WWF turning into WWE.

Gibb: As a rule, I think almost all the WWE HOF speeches are too long by half. With that said, the wit and wisdom of Bobby Heenan could fill an entire set of encyclopedias, and he distilled it to a tight twenty-ish minutes that was true to who he had been as a wrestler on and off camera and honored the people he felt were the most important to the business and his evolution in it.

Cross: Most speeches are too long for me. I enjoyed Jim Cornette’s induction of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express last year.

If you could kick anybody out of the entire hall, who would it be?

Goodwillie: I probably wouldn’t kick anyone out, as I don’t think there’s really a precedent for that in any professional sports hall of fame. I do think Sunny, and the recently unearthed discoveries about the Fabulous Moolah, give them compelling cases for removal.

Gibbon: I hate to go to what could be considered a political place, but I’d say Donald Trump. I’m not sure more explanation is needed. I share Jim Cornette’s feelings about the man. Let’s just leave it at that for goodness sake.

Mahalis: Honestly, I don’t know if I have a major beef with anyone that is in there. There are some people that shouldn’t make it based on their in-ring accomplishments certainly, but some people just had Hall of Fame gimmicks I guess.

Corrigan: Gibb and I rattle off five names each on this upcoming Monday’s episode of Corrigan’s Corner. He won’t admit it here, but Gibb had several hot takes. Mine were less controversial, so I’ll just tease you with Drew Carey.

Gibb: Pfft! Get out of here. You have to listen to Corrigan’s Corner to get that level of insight from me. I give you five names over there.

Cross: There are a handful of people who shouldn’t be in. But none piss me off more than the Ultimate Warrior. I already hated him, and I found out recently he thought Heath Ledger deserved to die! What a fuckhead.

Who is somebody that should already be in?

Goodwillie: I’ll throw Christian’s name into the hat. There are plenty of main event-caliber inductees still on the table, namely Daniel Bryan, Batista and Chris Jericho, but Christian’s time has to be coming soon. It’s hard to believe it’s been six years since tag partner Edge’s induction. While I find Christian to be incredibly entertaining, many close to the business will wax poetic about just what kind of mind he had for wrestling psychology.

Gibbon: I’ve got one that was a big surprise to me when I found out that he wasn’t in it already. I would have to say Christian, who is a three-time World Champion, and an endlessly entertaining WWE superstar who’s retired now. So why isn’t he in? His fake brother Edge is in; so why not the CLB?

Mahalis: The glaring answer for me is The Rock. My guess is that WWE has asked him if he wants to go in and he has declined on the off chance that he wants to wrestle another match or two. The fact of the matter is this: The Rock should have been in years ago. I’m sure whenever he says the word, WWE jumps to put him in. Besides The Rock though, how is Christian not in the Hall of Fame? Come on man. If you are putting guys like Mark Henry and Jeff Jarrett in, Christian should have been in the year after he retired. I feel like Christian has always been under appreciated. He was one-half of one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history and had a really good singles career. I always thought he should have had a few more runs as the WWE Champion as well. Bottom line, it is embarrassing that The Pontiff of the Peepulation is not in the HoF. Get this done next year WWE. It’s also weird that Owen Hart isn’t in the Hall of Fame. Come on WWE, what are you doing here?

Corrigan: Gibb and I also share five names for this! Here’s another teaser: Miss Elizabeth, the First Lady of WWE.

Gibb: See above. Listen to the podcast.

Cross: Bruiser Brody isn’t in, but Carlos Colon, the man who helped his murderer get off, was inducted. Swap the two.