Every year, one day before WrestleMania, is the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Over the years, the WWE Hall of Fame has included some of the greatest names to ever take part of the professional wrestling industry. This includes the late Eddie Guerrero, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Andre the Giant, and Jim Ross. There are even some inductees that fan might not agree with, like Koko B. Ware, or the controversial United States Presidential Candidate Donald Trump.
The Hall of Fame class of 2016 includes a wide variety of names spanning across multiple decades and wrestling promotions. The class is headlined by Sting, who’s accompanied by The Fabulous Freebirds, Big Boss Man, The Godfather, Jaqueline, Stan Hansen, and in the celebrity wing, Snoop Dogg. Let’s take a look at the inductees and their contributions to the WWE.
Sting
“The Icon” has been wrestling since the 1980s, all the way up to a match in 2015 against Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions. He has competed for the NWA, WCW, TNA and three matches in WWE. It might be odd that someone who only wrestled for WWE three times would be inducted into their Hall of Fame, but Sting was essentially the “franchise” of WCW, which WWE purchased to end the Monday Night Wars. No matter the character, Sting has always been one of the most popular wrestlers in any promotion he is in, and that is currently the case in the WWE. Sting will be inducted into the Hall of Fame by longtime friend and rival, Ric Flair.
The Fabulous Freebirds
Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, Buddy Robert, Jimmy Garvin, and Badstreet took tag team wrestling by storm with their flamboyant characters, and their own “Freebird Rule.” They competed in NWA, WCW, and WWE (WWF at the time), and are known for a heated rivalry with the Von Erichs. The “Freebird Rule” is applied to a multi-man team that holds Tag Team Championship gold. The team that holds the titles is allowed to use any combination of two men to represent the championships in title defenses. This is seen currently on WWE television with The New Day.
Speaking of The New Day, the overly-ridiculous team, and current WWE Tag Team Champions, will be inducting the Freebirds into the Hall of Fame. This is something that has been questioned by fans, since neither of these teams have anything in common. You would expect a team like the Von Erichs to induct them, not a team that only uses their tag team rule. The biggest problem, however, is that the Freebirds are known for their “southern pride,” represented by them wearing Confederate flag as face paint, which is a historically racist symbol. Their induction will certainly be interesting.
Big Boss Man
In the late 80s to early 90s, the Big Boss Man had his first run in the WWE. Coming out in a police officer uniform and holding a night stick in hand, Big Boss Man had several high-profile feuds, with the likes of The Heenan Family, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Hulk Hogan. After leaving WWE in 1993, he would work in WCW until 1998, where he would end up joining the NWO (like everybody else at the time). Perhaps his most memorable feud, however, was when he returned to WWE during the Attitude Era to feud with The Big Show. During the feud, Big Boss Man showed up at Big Show’s father’s funeral, attached the casket to his car, and drove away with it, in what is one of the most iconic moments of the Attitude Era. In 2004, Big Boss Man passed away from a heart attack. He will be inducted by longtime manager, Slick.
Jaqueline
Jaqueline Moore is a two-time Women’s Champion, wrestling in WWE from 1993-1994, and later from 1998-2004. In her time with the company, she feuded with Sable, which reinstated the Women’s Championship. What’s the most impressive feat of her career, however, is her reign as Cruiserweight Champion, which is a title mostly held by men. Shortly after losing the title, she left WWE for good. Jaqueline will be inducted by fellow Attitude Era stars, The Dudley Boyz.
The Godfather
Kama Mustafa, Papa Shango, The Soultaker, and many other gimmicks in his career, Charles Wright made the biggest impact with his Attitude Era character, The Godfather. The Godfather was a pimp, with the catchphrase “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy,” and his ring entrance including a “ho train.” WWE is clearly ignoring the objectification of women with his character, and focusing solely on the fact that he was a good worker, and entertaining enough to get over with the audience. He will be inducted by JBL and Ron Simmons, who worked as the APA during the Attitude Era.
Stan Hansen
Stan Hansen wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation for a few years, but made a career out of wrestling in Japan. In WWE, noted moments in his career include injuring Bruno Sammartino, and having a steel cage match with Bob Backlund at Madison Square Garden. Since most of his career was spent in Japan, this induction is to acknowledge Hansen’s contribution to pro wrestling as a whole, not just WWE. He will be inducted by (probably future Hall of Famer) Vader.
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg is a WWE Hall of Fame inductee that is more deserving than people expect. The hip-hop mega-star has been a big part of WWE, having multiple appearances at WrestleManias, including hosting a Lumberjill match between Maria, Ashley Massaro, and Beth Phoenix. He has also been a guest host of Monday Night Raw, during which he delivered a spear to Chavo Guerrero. There is no word on who will be inducting him, but it’s likely that it will be his cousin, and WWE Diva, Sasha Banks.
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