Yesterday, we caught wind that one of the first names for the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame had been leaked. If the reports are true, I personally couldn’t be happier for Diamond Dallas Page. Not only was he a key figure in WCW’s late 90s rise to the top of the monday night ratings war with the WWE, but he has single-handedly done more to preserve the history of the professional wrestling than any Hall of Fame could ever do. DDP yoga has saved the health of many former superstars; most notably Jake The Snake Roberts and Scott Hall as documented in the film, The Resurrection Of Jake The Snake.
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While DDP is a great inclusion into the HOF, there are several glaring omissions that need to be righted with the 2017 class. Some names, like Goldberg, The Rock, Kurt Angle and The Undertaker are likely being held off until the WWE is sure they are no longer going to be active competitors. This is the reason Sting was held out until he was 100% retired.
It’s likely more nominees will start trickling out in the next few weeks and here are 5 that absolutely have to be included.
5. King Kong Bundy
The main event of the WWE’s second Wrestlemania venture is often glossed over when remembering the events of the 80s that boosted the WWE into the stratosphere, but it’s very possible that we would have never gotten to the epic battle between Andre and Hulk Hogan and Wrestlemania 3 if King Kong Bundy hadn’t been the perfect steel cage opponent for Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 2.
At peak powers, Bundy was portrayed as one of the most dominant heels in WWE, claiming that his Avalanche finisher was so devastating that he would only accept victory after pinning his opponents for a full five count, as opposed to the traditional three.
One of the most memorable members of Bobby Heenan’s “Heenan Family”, King Kong Bundy deserves a spot in the WWE hall.
4. Chyna
This one is a year too late. Chyna was reportedly so distraught that she was not allowed to attend last year’s WWE Hall of Fame that it allegedly contributed to her downward spiral. This, of course, speaks more to her own personal demons than it does to the WWE’s reasons for not wanting her to be at the ceremony.
The groundbreaking women’s wrestler was a key member of Degeneration-X and remains the only woman to win the Intercontinental Championship. Chyna’s post-WWE career featured adult films and a alcohol and drug addictions that led to her untimely passing.
While it may currently be too sensitive of an issue for the WWE and Chyna’s family, her rightful induction into the Hall of Fame is something that needs to happen sooner than later.
3. Lex Luger
One of the biggest names in wrestling during the late 80s and early 90s was the Total Package Lex Luger. From his memorable feuds with and against the Four Horsemen in WCW to his All-American Lex Express tour in the WWE, Luger was unquestionably one of the top draws in the business.
Luger€™s real downfall in the eyes of Vince McMahon came on 4th September 1995, when WCW Monday Nitro launched and kicked off the Monday Night Wars. Just eight days after appearing at SummerSlam, Luger strolled down the aisle during the main event of the first ever Nitro and immediately putting himself into the WCW’s world title picture. Luger€™’s appearance caused huge embarrassment to McMahon, as he was totally unaware that Luger was not going to be at that night€™s Raw taping.
It’s quite possible that Luger’s association with the drug overdose of former WWE valet, Miss Elizabeth, could hinder his chances of ever making it into the hall, but Lex has turned his life around in recent years, kicking his drug addiction and giving his testimony to churches around the country.
Many former stars that have burned their WWE bridges have been granted forgiveness including the Ultimate Warrior and Randy Macho Man Savage. Perhaps it is a good sign that Luger is featured as a playable character in the recent WWE 2K video games.
2. Rick Rude
“What I’d like to have right now is for all you fat, out of shape, San Francisco sweathogs to keep the noise down while I take my robe off and show all the ladies what a real man is supposed to look like.”
One of my personal all-time favorite heels was “Ravishing” Rick Rude sadly passed away in 1999. The Ravishing one had a 12 year career that saw him winning multiple championships including a WWE Intercontinental championship and WCW United States Championship. Rude had memorable feuds with The Ultimate Warrior and Jake The Snake Roberts (he had Jake’s wife airbrushed on the front of his pants). Rude’s over the top ladies man gimmick may have overshadowed his wrestling abilities. He was a beast in the gym and in the ring and had one of the best finishers in the game with his “Rude Awakening” neckbreaker.
Unfortunately, the WWE was not in the business of letting heels run with the company’s top prize in Rude’s prime (the Hulkamania era) or he would have made an excellent world champion.
Fun fact: due to the way shows were taped at the time, he is also the only man to have appeared on television in WWF, WCW, and ECW on the same night, when he left WWF abruptly after the Montreal Screwjob, feeling that the company had disrespected Bret Hart and acted in an unprofessional manner that he refused to be associated with.
1. Demolition
They say strike while the iron is hot and there’s no better time to cash in on the name equity of Demolition than right now. While their tag team championship record of 478 consecutive days may have been broken by The New Day, their name rang out louder and louder each week that the record was mentioned.
Demolition was the WWE’s answer to WCW’s Legion of Doom in the late 80s and considering many fans saw them before the LOD ever made it to the WWE, their legacy remains secure as one of the all-time greatest tag teams. With their spikes, face paint, painted tounges and amazing theme song, Demolition was everything that was great about the early 90s pro wrestling scene.
Starting as a two man team, Ax and Smash eventually brought in the younger Crush to compete under “Freebird Rules” when Ax’s health deteriorated. Sadly, Crush (Brian Adams) passed away in 2007, but Ax (Bill Eadie), and Smash (Barry Darsow) are still present to accept the nomination and give one hell of an acceptance speech.
If the Bushwhackers are in the WWE Hall of Fame, then Demoltion has to be!
