WWE Hall of Fame

The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously inducted with a video package as the sole inductee that year. The 1994 and 1995 ceremonies were held in conjunction with the annual King of the Ring pay-per-view events and the 1996 ceremony was held with the Survivor Series event. Since 2004, the promotion has held the ceremonies in conjunction with WrestleMania. Since 2005, portions of the induction ceremonies have aired on television and since 2014, the entire ceremony has aired on the WWE's livestreaming platforms.

As of 2026, there have been 262 inductees, with 136 wrestlers inducted individually, 51 Legacy inductees, 21 group inductions (consisting of 56 wrestlers within those groups), 15 celebrities, 9 Warrior Award recipients, and 2 Immortal Moment recipients (a category introduced in 2025 to honor historical matches). Eight wrestlers have been inducted twice in two categories: Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Booker T, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Triple H and André the Giant; while two two-time inductees were inducted twice as a member of a group: Sean Waltman (D-Generation X and the New World Order) and Barry Windham (The Four Horsemen and The U.S. Express); while Bret "The Hitman" Hart and Hulk Hogan are the only wrestlers to be inducted three separate times in three separate categories. 70 members have been inducted posthumously.

History

The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) established the WWF Hall of Fame in 1993. It was first announced on the March 22, 1993, episode of Monday Night Raw where André the Giant, who had died nearly two months prior, was announced as the sole inductee. In the proceeding two years, induction ceremonies were held in conjunction with the annual King of the Ring pay-per-view events. The 1996 ceremony was held with the Survivor Series event, for the first time in front of a paying audience as well as the wrestlers, after which, the Hall of Fame went on hiatus.

After an eight-year hiatus, the promotion—which was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002—scheduled the 2004 ceremony to coincide with WrestleMania, establishing the traditional date for all following ceremonies. Highlights of the 2004 ceremony were shown at WrestleMania XX, followed by the inductees appearing on the entrance stage in a condensed ceremony, which would become a Hall of Fame tradition from that point forward. The full version was released on DVD on June 1, 2004. Beginning with the 2005 ceremony, an edited version of the Hall of Fame was broadcast on Spike TV (2005) and on the USA Network (2006–2016); these were broadcast on tape delay. Since 2005, the entire Hall of Fame ceremony has been packaged as part of the annual WrestleMania DVD release, and from 2014, has been broadcast live on the WWE Network streaming service. The 2021 ceremony was pretaped on March 30 and April 1 and aired on April 6. In addition to the WWE Network in international markets, the event also aired on Peacock in the United States after the American version of the WWE Network had merged under Peacock in March that year.

Although a building has never been built to represent the Hall of Fame, WWE has looked into constructing a facility. In 2008, Shane McMahon, then-Executive Vice President of Global Media of WWE, stated that WWE had been storing wrestling memorabilia in a warehouse for years, with all items categorized and dated in case a facility is created. Ric Flair stated in 2020 that WWE was in the process of creating a building for the Hall of Fame and that it would be in Florida in the Orlando area, but plans had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, WWE president Nick Khan expressed interest about creating a Hall of Fame building.

Specialty inductees

Celebrity wing

The "celebrity wing" of the Hall of Fame is dedicated to celebrities who have made memorable appearances on WWE programming, and/or have had longtime associations with WWE (or professional wrestling in general), who have been very successful in other fields.

Warrior Award

right|thumb|upright|[[Dana Warrior presents the inaugural Warrior Award at the 2015 Hall of Fame ceremony]]

In 2015, WWE introduced the Warrior Award for those who had "exhibited unwavering strength and perseverance, and who live life with the courage and compassion that embodies the indomitable spirit of the Ultimate Warrior".

While WWE promoted Warrior Award recipients as Hall of Fame inductees, they were not included in the Hall of Fame section at WWE.com and an image gallery which shows "every WWE Hall of Famer ever" does not contain any recipient.

The award was created following Ultimate Warrior's death. During his April 2014 Hall of Fame speech shortly before his death, he proposed that there be a special category called the "Jimmy Miranda Award" for WWE's behind-the-scenes employees. Miranda, who died in 2002, was part of the WWE merchandise department for more than 20 years. Former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts expressed disappointment at how WWE used portions of Warrior's Hall of Fame speech to promote the award but left out Warrior's intentions of honoring WWE's off-screen employees. WWE responded, "It is offensive to suggest that WWE and its executives had anything, but altruistic intentions in honoring Connor and his legacy with The Warrior Award", adding that "moving forward the award will be given annually to acknowledge other unsung heroes among WWE's employees and fans". From 2019 until its discontinuation in 2024, all recipients had been either current or former WWE employees.

Traditionally, Dana Warrior, the widow of Ultimate Warrior, presented the award. Dana Warrior was released from the company in 2023, and as a result, the Warrior Award was discontinued.

Legacy inductees

In 2016, WWE introduced a new category for the Hall of Fame called the "Legacy" wing. Inductees in this category are from several eras of wrestling history, going back to the early 20th century. All but two inductees, Hisashi Shinma and MSG Network creator Joseph Cohen, have been inducted posthumously. Unlike other inductees, those inducted into the Legacy wing are recognized with a video package rather than a traditional speech.

Previously, Legacy inductees were not announced before the ceremonies and families of posthumous inductees were not notified of their inductions. This practice was criticized by family members of Legacy inductees Bruiser Brody, Ethel Johnson and Stan Stasiak. The Legacy wing was discontinued in 2021, but was reinstated in 2025, now with inductees announced beforehand as well as having their families present and acknowledged at the ceremony.

The Legacy wing has received criticism, specifically regarding the abbreviated way of the inductions. Journalist Dave Meltzer said "this is the category they (WWE) use to honor people who, for whatever reason, they don't feel are marketable names to the modern audience to put in their actual Hall of Fame". Promoter and manager Jim Cornette criticized the fact that recognizable names like Jim Londos or El Santo were part of a video package. Although the post-2025 version invites the families of the inductees to participate in the ceremony, Gunnar Eudy, son of 2026 inductee Sid, described his father's limited induction as "disrespectful as hell" and said the company had "tried to shortchange [him] one last time."

Immortal Moment

During the March 28, 2025, episode of SmackDown, WWE unveiled a new "Immortal Moment" category for the Hall of Fame, honoring historic and influential matches. The first induction in this new category was Bret "The Hitman" Hart vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a no disqualification submission match with Ken Shamrock as the special guest referee from WrestleMania 13. This induction made Hart the first-ever three-time inductee while also making Austin a two-time inductee.

Classes

1993

WWF Hall of Fame (1993) was the inaugural class of the WWE Hall of Fame. During the March 22, 1993, episode of Monday Night Raw a video package announcing André the Giant's induction was shown. Due to the original ceremony only being partially recorded and not originally intended to air, Gene Okerlund and Renee Young host the program with added commentary.

{|class="wikitable sortable"

! class="unsortable"| Image

! Ring name (Birth Name)

! Inducted by

! class="unsortable"| WWE recognized accolades

|One-time WWWF United States Tag Team Champion and long-time manager of Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund in WWF

|75px

| ()

|Seven-time WWWF United States Heavyweight Champion One-time NWA United States Heavyweight Champion

|frameless|102x102px

| ()

|Posthumous inductee: One-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and first WWWF World Heavyweight Champion

|75px

| ()

|Four-time WWWF/WWF World Tag Team Champion

|75px

|Regis Philbin

|Held over 30 NWA regional championships. Long-time manager in WWF

|75px

| ()

|Two-time WWWF United States Tag Team Champion Former WWF announcer and onscreen President

|First African American to run a major arena in the United States

|-style="border-top:2px solid gray;"

1995

WWF Hall of Fame (1995) was the event that featured the introduction of the third class to the WWE Hall of Fame. The event was produced by the WWF on June 24, 1995, from the Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event took place the same weekend as King of the Ring.

In March 2015 a condensed version of the ceremony was added to the WWE Network.

|75px

|Bill Watts

|Won several NWA regional titles, and was one of few professional wrestlers to have had a successful career in American football

|75px

| ()

|Pat Myers

|One of professional wrestling's first monster heels

|75px

| ()

|One-time WWF Tag Team Champion

|75px

| ()

| A three-time WWF Women's Champion. Her first reign is recognized as lasting a record 28 years The first woman to be inducted. In 1999 she won the Women's Championship one more time.

|75px

| ()

|Sgt. Slaughter

|Posthumous inductee. Long-time heel manager in WWF

|75px

|Gorilla Monsoon

|Savio Vega accepted the induction One-time WWWF World Heavyweight Champion whose reign lasted nearly three years The first WWF Triple Crown Champion He was also the first Latino to win the world title

|-style="border-top:2px solid gray;"

1996

WWF Hall of Fame (1996) was the event which featured the introduction of the fourth class to the WWE Hall of Fame. The event was produced by the WWF on November 16, 1996, from the Marriott Marquis in New York City, New York. The event took place the same weekend as Survivor Series.

In March 2015 a condensed version of the ceremony was added to the WWE Network.

|75px

| ()

|Wrestled in WWF for nearly two decades

|75px

| ()

|Triple H

|One-time WWWF World Tag Team Champion, held 17 NWA regional championships

|75px

| One-time WWWF United States Tag Team Champion As a manager, he led 13 different tag teams to a record 17 tag team titles, and four singles wrestlers to various championships His association with Cyndi Lauper was pivotal in turning professional wrestling into a mainstream phenomenon

|75px

|One-time WWWF World Tag Team Champion One-time WWWF United States Tag Team Champion

|75px

| ()

|One-time and first WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, one-time AWA World Tag Team Champion and held over 20 NWA regional championships Credited as the creator of the Royal Rumble match Patterson won the WWF Hardcore Championship in 2000 and the WWE 24/7 Championship in 2020

|75px

|Posthumous inductee. Founder and longtime promoter of the World (Wide) Wrestling Federation

|-style="border-top:2px solid gray;"

{|class="wikitable"

! style="width:25%;"| Group

! style="width:20%;"| Inducted by

! class="unsortable"| WWE recognized accolades

| The Valiant Brothers

| Tony Garea

| colspan=3| Jimmy Valiant () – four-time NWA Television Champion Johnny Valiant () – became a manager in the WWF and AWA during the 1980s

2004

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="10" |Individual

|Big Show

|

|Tyrel Ventura

|Junkyard Dog

|Celebrity

|Kane

2005

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="7" |Individual

|

2006

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="6" |Individual

|, and

|Group

|The Blackjacks (Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza)

|Celebrity

| John Cena

2007

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="7" |Individual

| and

| and Sabu

|Group

|The Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika)

| and

2008

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="6" |Individual

|Dusty Rhodes

|Jim Ross

| rowspan="2" |

|Triple H

|Group

|The Brisco Brothers (Jack Brisco and Gerald Brisco)

2009

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="5" |Individual

| rowspan="2" |Group

|The Funks (Terry and Dory Jr.)

|Dusty Rhodes

|The Von Erichs (Fritz, Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike and Chris)

|Michael Hayes

2010

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="6" |Individual

| and

|Celebrity

2011

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="5" |Individual

|Abdullah the Butcher

|Sunny

|WWE Divas

|Group

|The Road Warriors (Hawk, Animal and Paul Ellering)

|Dusty Rhodes

|Celebrity

|Kane

2012

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="4" |Individual

|Edge

|Christian

|Yokozuna

|Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso

|Group

|The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard and J. J. Dillon)

|Dusty Rhodes

|Celebrity

| and Triple H

2013

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="5" |Individual

|Booker T

|Stevie Ray

|Trish Stratus

|Celebrity

2014

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="6" |Individual

|Carlos Colón Sr.

|Carlito, Eddie and Orlando Colón

|Jake Roberts

|Diamond Dallas Page

|Lita

|Trish Stratus

|Paul Bearer

|Kane

|Razor Ramon

|Kevin Nash

|Ultimate Warrior

|Linda McMahon

|Celebrity

|Gene Okerlund

2015

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="6" |Individual

|Alundra Blayze

|Natalya Neidhart

|Kevin Nash

|Shawn Michaels

|Larry Zbyszko

|Bruno Sammartino

|Randy Savage

|Hulk Hogan

|Rikishi

|The Usos

|Tatsumi Fujinami

|Ric Flair

|Group

|The Bushwhackers (Luke Williams and Butch Miller)

|John Laurinaitis

|Celebrity

|Triple H

|Warrior Award

|Connor "The Crusher" Michalek

|Dana Warrior and Daniel Bryan

2016

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="5" |Individual

|Big Boss Man

|Slick

|The Godfather

|John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Ron Simmons

|Jacqueline

|Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley

|Sting

|Ric Flair

|Stan Hansen

|Vader

|Group

|The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts and Jimmy Garvin)

|Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods

|Celebrity

|Snoop Dogg

|John Cena

|Warrior Award

|Joan Lunden

|Dana Warrior

| rowspan="7" |Legacy

| rowspan="7" |N/A

2017

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

! Inductee

! Inducted by

| rowspan="5" |Individual

|Beth Phoenix

|Natalya

|Diamond Dallas Page

|Eric Bischoff

|Kurt Angle

|John Cena

|Rick Rude

|Ricky Steamboat

|Theodore Long

|John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Ron Simmons

|Group

|The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson)

|Jim Cornette

|Warrior Award

|Eric LeGrand

|Dana Warrior

| rowspan="9" |Legacy

| rowspan="9" |N/A

2018

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="5" |Individual

|Goldberg

|Paul Heyman

|Hillbilly Jim

|Jimmy Hart

|Ivory

|Molly Holly

|Jeff Jarrett

|Road Dogg

|Mark Henry

|Big Show

|Group

| The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley)

| Edge and Christian

|Warrior Award

|Jarrius "JJ" Robertson

|Dana Warrior

|Celebrity

|Kid Rock

|Triple H

| rowspan="10" |Legacy

|Boris Malenko

| rowspan="10" |N/A

|Cora Combs

|Dara Singh

|El Santo

|Hiro Matsuda

|Jim Londos

|Lord Alfred Hayes

|Rufus R. Jones

|Stan Stasiak

|Sputnik Monroe

2019

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="3" |Individual

|Brutus Beefcake

|The Honky Tonk Man

|Jimmy Hart (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chyna, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and X-Pac)

| rowspan="2"|N/A

|Harlem Heat

|Dana Warrior and John Cena

| rowspan="12"|N/A

|Jushin Thunder Liger

|The British Bulldog

| rowspan="2" | Group

|The New World Order (Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman)

|The Bella Twins (Nikki Bella and Brie Bella)

|Celebrity

|William Shatner

|Warrior Award

|Titus O'Neil

| rowspan="5" |Legacy

|Baron Michele Leone

|Brickhouse Brown

| rowspan="12" |N/A

|Kane

|Molly Holly

|Rob Van Dam

|The Great Khali

|Celebrity

|Ozzy Osbourne

|Warrior Award

|Rich Hering

| rowspan="5" |Legacy

|Buzz Sawyer

|Booker T

|The Undertaker

|Vince McMahon

|Vader

|Jesse White

|Group

|The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner)

|Bron Breakker

|Warrior Award

|Shad Gaspard

|Dana Warrior

2023

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="3" | Individual

|Rey Mysterio

|Konnan

|Stacy Keibler

|Mick Foley and Torrie Wilson

|The Great Muta

|Ric Flair

|Celebrity

|Andy Kaufman

|Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Hart

|Warrior Award

|Tim White

|John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Ron Simmons

2024

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="4" |Individual

|Bull Nakano

|Alundra Blayze

|Lia Maivia

|The Rock

|Paul Heyman

|Roman Reigns

|Thunderbolt Patterson

|Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods

|rowspan="1” | Group

|The U.S. Express (Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham)

|Bo Dallas and Mika Rotunda

|Celebrity

|Muhammad Ali

|The Undertaker

2025

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

| rowspan="3" |Individual

|Lex Luger

|Diamond Dallas Page

|Michelle McCool

|The Undertaker

|Triple H

|Shawn Michaels

| rowspan="1" |Group

|The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon)

|N/A

| rowspan="1" |Immortal Moment

|Bret "The Hitman" Hart vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a No Disqualification Submission match with Ken Shamrock as the special guest referee from WrestleMania 13

|CM Punk

| rowspan="3" |Legacy

|Dory Funk Sr.

2026

Class headliners appear in boldface

{| class="wikitable"

!Category

!Inductee

!Inducted by

|rowspan=2 | Individual

|AJ Styles

|Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

|Stephanie McMahon

|Linda McMahon

| rowspan="1" |Group

|Demolition (Ax and Smash)

|Arn Anderson, Haku, and The Warlord

|Celebrity

|Dennis Rodman

|Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman

|rowspan=2 |Legacy

|Sycho Sid

|rowspan="2" |N/A

|Bad News Brown

| rowspan="1" |Immortal Moment

|Hulk Hogan vs. André the Giant in a Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 3

|Jimmy Hart

Ceremony dates and locations

right|thumb|200px|The induction of [[Bret Hart into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006]]

right|thumb|200px|[[WWE Hall of Fame (2009)|WWE Hall of Fame 2009 ceremony]]

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%"

!Ceremony !! Date

!Location

!Venue

!class="unsortable" |Host !! Associated Event

|WWE Hall of Fame (1994) ||

|Baltimore, Maryland

|Omni Inner Harbor International Hotel

|rowspan=3 ||

|WWE Hall of Fame (1995) ||

|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

|Marriott Hotel

|WWE Hall of Fame (1996) ||

|New York City, New York

|Marriott Marquis

|WWE Hall of Fame (2004) ||

|New York City, New York

|Rosemont Theatre

|Jerry Lawler ||

|WWE Hall of Fame (2007) ||

|Detroit, Michigan

|Fox Theatre

|Todd Grisham ||

|WWE Hall of Fame (2008) ||

|Orlando, Florida

|Amway Arena

|Gene Okerlund and Todd Grisham ||

|WWE Hall of Fame (2009) ||

|Houston, Texas

|Toyota Center

|Jerry Lawler and Todd Grisham ||

!10

|WWE Hall of Fame (2010) ||

|Phoenix, Arizona

|Dodge Theater

|rowspan=9|Jerry Lawler ||

!11

|WWE Hall of Fame (2011) ||

|Atlanta, Georgia

|Philips Arena

!12

|WWE Hall of Fame (2012) ||

|Miami, Florida

|American Airlines Arena

!13

|WWE Hall of Fame (2013) ||

|New York City, New York

|Madison Square Garden

!14

|WWE Hall of Fame (2014) ||

|New Orleans, Louisiana

|Smoothie King Center

!15

|WWE Hall of Fame (2015) ||

|San Jose, California

|SAP Center

!16

|WWE Hall of Fame (2016) ||

|Dallas, Texas

|American Airlines Center

!17

|WWE Hall of Fame (2017) ||

|Orlando, Florida

|Amway Center

!18

|WWE Hall of Fame (2018) ||

|New Orleans, Louisiana

|Smoothie King Center

!19

|WWE Hall of Fame (2019) ||

|Brooklyn, New York

|Barclays Center

|Corey Graves and Renee Young

!20

|WWE Hall of Fame (2020) ||

| rowspan="2" |St Petersburg, Florida

| rowspan="2" |WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field

| rowspan="2" |Corey Graves and Kayla Braxton ||

!23

|WWE Hall of Fame (2023) ||

|Los Angeles, California

|Crypto.com Arena ||

!24

|WWE Hall of Fame (2024) ||

|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

|Wells Fargo Center

|Corey Graves and Jackie Redmond ||

!25

|WWE Hall of Fame (2025) ||

|Las Vegas, Nevada

|Fontainebleau Las Vegas

|Michael Cole and Pat McAfee ||

!26

|WWE Hall of Fame (2026) ||

|Las Vegas, Nevada

|Dolby Live at Park MGM

|Michael Cole and The Miz ||

Reception

Omissions and refused inductions

thumb|upright|2013 headliner [[Bruno Sammartino previously refused to accept an induction]]

In 2012, The Post and Courier columnist Mike Mooneyham noted that the Hall has garnered criticism due to the inductions of questionable performers, and the omissions of major names within the industry. Bob Backlund declined induction multiple times, and Ultimate Warrior wrote that he refused the honor in 2010; they were eventually inducted in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Randy Savage was long recognized as being noticeably absent; Chris Jericho said that the Hall achieved a level of legitimacy by inducting Savage in 2015. Mick Foley long described Vader as "the most glaring and obvious omission from the #WWEHOF"; this was later corrected when he was posthumously inducted as part of the Class of 2022. Sammartino declined previous induction offers, before accepting in 2013. Paul Levesque (Triple H) said that it was important for Sammartino to be inducted from a "legitimacy standpoint" and ESPN said that his induction was an opportunity to legitimize the Hall of Fame. After being announced as an inductee, Sammartino said he considered the Hall to be legitimate.

In December 2021, Jeff Hardy was released from WWE. On March 8, 2022, the day that Hardy's no-compete clause expired, WWE reached out to Hardy and offered him an inductee spot to the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. Hardy declined the offer because he was offended, felt like it was not time yet, and he wanted Matt Hardy to be inducted alongside him as the Hardy Boyz.

The Chris Benoit question

In June 2007, a double-murder suicide occurred involving Chris Benoit, who murdered his wife and youngest son before committing suicide. Benoit, who held numerous major championships, had a stellar career in the WWF/E, WCW and ECW, and was widely renowned as one of the greatest technical wrestlers of his generation. He was widely thought of during his later career and life as a guaranteed future WWE Hall of Famer. However, once his actions at the end of his life were discovered, that thought quickly dissipated. Despite this, in the years following, a posthumous WWE Hall of Fame induction of Benoit became a regular topic of debate and discussion. While arguments have been made by a number of pro-wrestling fans and industry alumni for Benoit to one day be inducted on account of his in-ring work, the overwhelming opinion from the majority of industry veterans is that the nature of Benoit's demise disqualifies him from ever entering. Benoit is a member of two professional wrestling Hall of Fames outside WWE, namely the Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame; both inductions took place in the years prior to his murders (1995 and 2003 respectively).

Quality of inductees

thumb|left|[[Koko B. Ware's 2009 induction remains controversial]]

Ric Flair has stated there are several wrestlers in the Hall of Fame that did not deserve it but did not cite any name. Koko B. Ware, who worked as an undercard wrestler in WWF, is often billed as a controversial inductee since he was selected before wrestlers such as Randy Savage or Bruno Sammartino. Caleb Smith of Slam Wrestling questioned how Ware was inducted, but former WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff never was before his 2017 death. 411Mania writer Steve Cook defended his Hall of Fame status since he was very popular with fans and some of his losses were historic, while Kevin Pantoja described him as "the floor for inductees".

Superstar Billy Graham publicly slammed the hall and demanded that WWE remove him from it, due to the 2011 induction of Abdullah the Butcher. Graham wrote: "It is a shameless organization to induct a bloodthirsty animal such as Abdullah the Butcher into their worthless and embarrassing Hall of Fame and I want the name of Superstar Billy Graham to be no part of it". In 2018, Bret Hart, who headlined the 2006 ceremony, criticized the omissions of several wrestlers, primarily Dynamite Kid and his brother Owen, as well as the inductions of the likes of The Rock 'n' Roll Express and The Fabulous Freebirds, who experienced little success in WWE. Hart said he would not go to another ceremony until WWE inducts "proper, deserving candidates". Hart attended the 2019 ceremony to be inducted for a second time as part of The Hart Foundation. In 2021, after the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Mick Foley asked Vince McMahon to remove Donald Trump, who was then President of the United States, from the Hall of Fame, though it ultimately did not occur.

Dave Scherer of PWInsider has questioned how WWE can sustain the 2004–present Hall of Fame model, due to legends being rapidly inducted. He wrote: "There are only so many people that they can have headline a class. They really need to make more new stars to ensure that they can keep filling arenas for the ceremony". 411Mania's Ryan Byers said WWE standards are "weird" since several inductees have Hall of Fame careers, but others "made it in for political reasons, longstanding loyalty to the promotion".

Praise and criticism

Owen Hart's widow, Martha Hart, responded to calls for him to be inducted by stating: "Their Hall of Fame? They don't even have a Hallway of Fame. It doesn't exist. There's nothing. It's a fake entity. There's nothing real or tangible. It's just an event they have to make money. They put it on TV and have a celebration, and it's just so ridiculous. I would never even entertain it. It's garbage." Sabu also criticized the Hall of Fame, saying "I'd only do it because I need the money... I don't consider it a real Hall of Fame".

Others have offered praise for the Hall of Fame. World Wrestling Council promoter and 26-time WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion Carlos Colón Sr. said that his 2014 induction was a "realization of a dream". Arn Anderson, who was inducted in 2012 as part of The Four Horsemen, said that the induction was the "pinnacle of [his] wrestling life". 2015 Hall of Fame headliner Kevin Nash stated that two things in the professional wrestling business are real: "When you win your first championship and when you get inducted into the Hall of Fame". Nash claimed this is a sentiment to which colleague Ric Flair also subscribes. During his 2013 induction, Donald Trump said that the honor meant more than "having the highest ratings in TV, being a best-selling author or getting a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame".

WWE Hall of Fame

History

Specialty inductees

Celebrity wing

Warrior Award

Legacy inductees

Immortal Moment

Classes

1993

1995

1996

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2023

2024

2025

2026

Ceremony dates and locations

Reception

Omissions and refused inductions

The Chris Benoit question

Quality of inductees

Praise and criticism

See also

References

External links