With the announcement of the Ultimate Warrior as the first member of the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame on last nights RAW comes questions as to who will follow him into the class of 2014. Our writers have each picked one person that they think are deserving, plus a little explanation for their choices.
Diamond Dallas Page
If I were to choose a candidate to go into the Hall of Fame in 2014, other than Randy Savage, it would be Diamond Dallas Page. This may surprise a few people, given that he had a less than successful run with WWE itself.
Seeing as how WCW history is now very much a fabric within the tapestry of the brand that is WWE, Page’s tremendous run with WCW counts for just as much as any other candidate’s credentials or successes in the WWE itself. He is a three-time WCW World Champion, two-time WCW United States Champion, four-time WCW tag-team champion and one-time WCW Television Champion.
DDP’s legacy goes significantly further than titles though. His yoga programme, DDP Yoga, is changing lives and he deserves every bit of commendation he receives for that. He has transformed the life of Scott Hall, who many had written off. He got Jake “The Snake” Roberts to a point in his life where Vince McMahon felt confident to include him on live television, in front of millions watching around the world. That, in my book, earns Page my thanks, admiration and my choice to enter the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014.
– Richard Thompson
Jake ‘ The Snake’ Roberts
With the Old School appearance last week and a rumoured Royal Rumble entry in 2 weeks time I think it would only be fitting if Jake capped off his remarkable and quite frankly miraculous turnaround by getting a Hall of Fame induction plus a big payoff at WrestleMania. That’s even before you talk about the wonderful career he’s had. From becoming a staple of the Mid-South to a worldwide star in the WWF Jake was one of the greatest wrestling minds to ever step foot in a 20 x 20 ring.
One of the very best performers never to have held the WWE World Heavyweight Title, and having so many memorable feuds with the likes of The Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage and Steve Austin. He was also heavily involved in the booking department in his 1996 return, coming up with most of the ideas for the Undertaker/Mankind rivalry. Not bad for someone who by most accounts shouldn’t be alive today.
– Dean Puckering
Big Boss Man
A man who didn’t win a title in the World Wrestling Federation when he was in his prime may not seem the immediate first choice for my Hall of Fame spot. I’m not proposing the induction of Ray “Big Boss Man” Traylor based on his four Hardcore Title reigns and one World Tag Team reign in the late 1990’s though. In an era like the WWF of the 1980’s where the character was king, the Big Boss Man stood out even with all the competition around him.
He was just as effective as the evil corrupt lawman battling Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage as he was when he was the tough babyface handing out justice to the Heenan Family or The Mountie. He showed great determination and dedication to the business when, at a time he could have cruised along, he dropped weight and got into the shape of his life. He was able to make his way to WCW and wrestle main event matches against the likes of Sting and Vader and both join the nWo and feud against them.
When his career may have seemed over he was able to return to the WWF and play a major role in Vince McMahon’s “Corporation” stable and turn irritatingly daft Attitude storylines like feeding Al Snow his own pet dog into entertaining storyline vignettes. As late as 1999, Boss Man was feuding with The Big Show over the WWF Title. All of this, of course, makes no mention of his main event feud with Dusty Rhodes in Jim Crockett promotions and his stint as UWF World Champion before he’d even set foot in a WWF ring and been given the gimmick he would most be remembered for.
Ray Traylor had that spark that made him one to watch wherever he was plying his trade, at whatever level on the card. And that never left him. There were better wrestlers, there were bigger names. But there was only ever one Big Boss Man.
– Matthew Roberts
John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield
Did anybody change their character quite as much as JBL did in 2004? For the majority of his career he played a hard-nosed Texan who didn’t take nonsense from anyone. Then one day he turned up on SmackDown dressed in a suit and cut a career best promo. From there he went on to feud and beat the late, great, Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Championship. This storyline set JBL up as the top heel in WWE for much of 2004/5 and he held onto the WWE Championship for a staggering 280 days
JBL has since become one of the voices of WWE as part of the RAW and SmackDown commentary team. He also has a hugely successful web series with Michael Cole on the WWE website and is the current commissioner of NXT. I think one of the more interesting and less noted things about Layfield’s career is that he came up with the concept for ‘Tribute to the Troops.
WWE Champion, Colour Commentator, Mountain Conqueror, Hall of Famer.
– Michael Owen
Bam Bam Bigelow
What can I say, I just love Bam Bam Bigelow’s work and I think he is more than worthy of a place in the WWE’s Hall of Fame. Having performed all over the world, Bigelow was the ultimate journeyman wrestler. Competing in the WWF, WCW, ECW, Japan, Mexico and every other point in between during a career spanning nearly 2 decades, he is more than worthy of that accolade.
A true “top hand”. It’s guys like Bigelow that were the solid backbone of this industry throughout the 80’s and 90’s. So whereas some may highlight his perennial mid-card status and lack of ever being a true main-eventer on a global scale, in a way that’s a big compliment. Bigelow and others like him were there to carry the load. The World Champions may get the most glory, but it’s because of the hard work of those underneath that we fondly remember those wrestling glory days.
Well respected amongst his peers and management for knowing his role, for teaching and bringing through talent; case in point, the LT match at WrestleMania XI. No-one else in WWF could’ve done that gig at that time and as the years go by, you start to see Bam Bam’s name spoken with greater reverence from those within WWE on the DVD releases they put out and in the “Best of…” lists published in their magazine and online. Always able to look past his own amateur wrestling background and tough-guy credentials in favour of doing business the right way every time, never taking liberties in the ring with opponents and being a solid all-round grappler and for being phenomenally agile for such a huge man. As graceful and light on his feet as anybody half his size, Bam Bam Bigelow should definitely be included in the Hall of Fame class of 2014.
– Dave Green
‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage
Other than Hulk Hogan, there is no other name so frequently brought up when discussing the World Wrestling Federation’s golden age and its most memorable moments. There are numerous rumours surrounding why Randy Savage has been exempt from the Hall of Fame thus far, and perhaps these rumours, true or not, are testament to how much Randy Savage means to wrestling fans as an icon in the business. His unique style and flare set him apart from the giants and the muscular behemoths that featured so prominently during that era. The wrestling world lost a legend when Randy sadly passed away in 2011 and now, whether the rumours about him are true or not, it’s time for the WWE to pay homage to one of its most memorable characters.
-Steven Stewart
A Different View
When I was asked to contribute to this site project of who I think is the most deserving to go into the WWE Hall of Fame alongside the Ultimate Warrior, well, the ‘Grumpy Historian’ in me came rushing to the surface. While I feel a bit like Bret Hart taking himself a wee bit too seriously, I simply could not, even for fun, put together a piece I do not believe in.
Truth be told, I have nothing against the WWE Hall of Fame, I watch it every year, I enjoy it, it’s a feel good moment: I’m not one of these people who hates it with a grotesque passion. Yet, it holds no credibility to me whatsoever and for one real simple reason. Essentially who goes in or not is decided by two people, Triple H and Vince McMahon, and the criteria is what will make WWE money, who will the current fan base know, and whether they want them in there or not. There is no real validity to a Hall of Fame put together that way, there needs to be some kind of voting process to eliminate any bias and there needs to be a selection of guys from all eras and aspects of the business not just the limited WWE popularized history.
With the way it currently is, I could not possibly give a serious or a fun opinion on who deserves to go in, because it simply does not matter who deserves to go in. I could have written this based on who would draw them the most money, but that’d be pointless now that they’ve already announced the main ticket seller, The Ultimate Warrior. This years H.O.F. might be stacked due to it being WrestleMania XXX, but the man they think is going to make them the most money has been announced already so the other inductee’s frankly don’t matter and they could be anyone, deserving or not, they’re just the trimmings to garnish the turkey.
With all that being said though and my refusal to just play ball and tarnish the very little integrity I have by issuing a small piece on something I am very outspoken about as being a pointless topic of conversation…the WWE Hall of Fame is not to be hated, it’s to be enjoyed for what it is: Another show put on by the WWE to entertain it’s fans and to provide what all good wrestling stories should hold at the end, a feel good moment to be remembered. You just have to suspend your disbelief while you watch and forget that what you’re seeing might not quite actually be as it seems.
– Jimmy Wheeler
Who would you like to see in the WWE HOF 2014 class? Let us know below!