Ripped To Shreds: Hall Of Fame
This year Ric Flair, a man who is universally considered to be one of the biggest and most recognizable names in wrestling history, was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. The Nature Boy is got what many feel is a very worthy spot. Every year around March, long time wrestling fans debate about the worthiness of certain upcoming and previous inductees. While I seriously doubt that anyone, anywhere, at any time who is a true fan of sports entertainment will argue over The Nature Boy’s inclusion into the Hall, there are some performers from the past who’s presence or absence have raised some eyebrows and some criticism towards the its overall credibility.
The single greatest achievement in any sport or form of entertainment may be disputed, but making the Hall of Fame in your given field of work is always considered one of the top forms of success. Did long time Chicago Cub Ryne Sandberg , someone who arguably is considered the best all around second basemen of all time, reach the pinnacle of success in his profession when he was inducted into baseball’s hall of fame in 2005? He never won a World Series, nor did he even compete in one. Joe Carter has been on the winning team in the World Series twice, and is credited with winning one of those World Series with a walk off homerun, something that has only happened one other time in baseball’s history. However, he has not been selected to the Hall Of Fame. (At least not yet.) Has he already achieved the epitome of success in his sport? The same question can be asked about former MVP Jose Canseco, who is now ineligible from said elite community. (He did not receive enough votes to stay on the ballot.)
But for retired veterans of World Wrestling Entertainment, is being able to give a speech on Wrestlemania weekend the highest achievement for their given field of work? Bruno Samartino, the man who has held the WWE title for a longer collective time than anyone, and about twice as long as his closest counterpart in that category, has gone on record as saying that WWE’s Hall Of Fame is a farce. Because there is no actual building, and because celebrities, who in retrospect have meant little to the business, are inducted (credit Wikipedia), the former ten year champion believes WWE’s Hall is a sham. Is this really the case?
Unlike sports such as baseball and football, WWE does necessarily have any legitimate obligation to their employees or fans, besides what they are legally obligated to. There are no outside wrestling historians who have a say in who gets inducted. There are no writers from Pro Wrestling Illustrated, nor is there any Dave Meltzer or Wade Keller who gets to vote on the matter. Unlike the National Basketball Association or the National Football League, World Wrestling Entertainment is not seen as an organization that is running and maintaining something that, in a sense, belongs more to Americana than it does to themselves. The NFL has a sense of having to maintain the same level of integrity that that takes place on the football field with their Hall Of Fame. All taunting and cheap shots aside, it is a sport of integrity, unlike professional wrestling. There really is not that much of a sense that pro wrestling belongs to anyone other than the organizations that run it, probably due in large part to the fact that the matches are fixed, and what happens in the ring is done for marketability, as opposed to basketball where whatever happens, happens.
The WWE Hall Of Fame, which may now be becoming something that honors all of the major history in professional wrestling, is at its very core a figurative place to honor performers, but only under the conditions that in doing so they do not embarrass the company, nor do they help any type of competition. When someone like Sting finally retires from wrestling, he would be a sure fire Hall Of Famer if he did not have ties to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. To uphold a highly regarded reputation for the HOF, names like Sting, Kurt Angle, and Booker T, who are current employees of TNA are deserving to be included. However, for financially competitive reasons, it may be unlikely for it to happen in the near future.
In the later part of the nineties, NBC reigned as the number one network on television. For five straight years from 1995 through 1999, they had the highest rated show on TV for all of those respective seasons. Seinfeld and ER each went back and forth with those honors on a number of occasions, and with shows like Friends and Frasier pulling in strong ratings as well, NBC really was a dominant force in the entertainment world. Now imagine if NBC had a Hall Of Fame for important on air personalities in their history. People like Johnny Carson, Bill Cosby, and Michael J. Fox (from Family Ties) would not have much of a problem getting in. Someone like Jennifer Aniston, who arguably played the most popular character on Friends, is likely to be inducted because she is deserving, and because there is no real reason to exclude her. But as for Julia Louis Dreyfus, who brought to life the character of Elaine Benes on Seinfeld, she might not exactly be at the top of NBC’s priorities. She is the current star of the hit show “The New Adventures of Old Christineâ€, which airs on rival network CBS.
With stars from rival television stations regularly appearing on their late night talk shows and Saturday Night Live, this may not be a realistic scenario, but I think you can all understand why it very well could be. Julia Louis Dreyfus would be very deserving of that honor, without question. However, giving praise to someone who is now your rival could do a large amount of damage to how well you do in your head to head competitions with the show that person is on. For a period of time in the nineties, no footage of Hulk Hogan was shown, nor was there any mention of his name what so ever until promos hyping the Ultimate Warrior’s return at Wrestlemania 12 were shown (which were followed by parody promos for a farce match between “The Hukster†and “The Nacho Manâ€). It’s obvious why Hogan’s name would not be mentioned on WWE programming at that time due to Hogan starting his run with World Championship Wrestling.
Hogan was incredibly popular and practically the cornerstone of WWE’s success for roughly nine years. Did WWE have an ethical obligation to fans not to insult them by trying to erase the existence of Hogan? Possibly. Did they have a bigger obligation to themselves to draw higher ratings than their biggest rivals? Absolutely. David Letterman was the host of “Late Nightâ€, which followed The Tonight Show when Johnny Carson was on the air, and Letterman pulled in a good deal of success. Would he be inducted, despite being on CBS and now going head to head every night with their own Tonight Show? It’s understandable that he might be excluded for the time being, but it would, in fact, hurt the credibility of their Hall Of Fame. They say nice guys finish last, and when you’re running a Hall while you’re competing with major rivals, that statement could hold true.
Now, let’s say the beloved Johnny Carson were to have denounced NBC after he left the company. He did publicly state that he did not feel Jay Leno was the most deserving of replacing him, but what if he were to openly bash NBC on a semi-regular basis, for what ever reason. Did he achieve the appropriate amount of success? Almost everyone will say yes. Is he someone that NBC should still associate with? No former or current employee should be above the business, and they simply can not do business with someone who insults their company and open the door to be pushed around like that. While the Ultimate Warrior is considered by some to be a flash in the pan, he really did a lot for the company in the collective time he was there. Should he not be considered due to his less than pleasing comments towards WWE, and his unprofessional behavior in holding Vince up for more money? While Warrior most likely won’t accept an induction, it would embarrass the organization to include him.
When the discussion of notable exclusions is mentioned, a name that is usually brought up is “Macho Man†Randy Savage. He has accomplished more than any wrestler could reasonably dream of in sports entertainment. His deep, unmistakable voice, combined with overwhelming intensity and a high level of in ring ability, he was able to etch his name into wrestling history. He had what many consider the greatest match in WWE history in his Wrestlemania 3 match against Ricky Steamboat. He competed in a tournament final at WM 4, and took home the gold, and held it until the next year’s Wrestlemania where he culminated a legendary storyline between himself, Miss Elizabeth, and Hulk Hogan. He once again stole the show at WM 7 in a retirement match with The Ultimate Warrior and had a memorable post match reunion with Miss Elizabeth. At Wrestlemania 8, he had (what is one of my personal favorite matches) a very entertaining match with Ric Flair, and again won the title on the biggest stage.
With multiple World Title runs in WCW, as well having as one of the best feuds in WCW’s history with Diamond Dallas Page, his worthiness to be in the Hall Of Fame is almost undeniable. But he has yet to be inducted. His absence is glaring, and being a long time main eventer who helped define an era in WWE’s history hurts the credibility of the Hall. Apparently Randy jumped ship to WCW without notice, and left the beginnings of a major storyline to dangle after he was involved in an attack with Bob Backlund. With outlandish rumors of Savage having sex with Vince McMahon’s daughter while she was underage (which I personally think are not true), not many people seem to know the real story on the matter. A heated argument, bitter comments made by one regarding the other after his departure could be possibilities, but whatever the reason, Savage’s figurative plaque is left off the figurative wall of the very elite.
While the aforementioned reason for not inducting someone based on financially competitive reasons is understandable, yet undermining to the integrity of the Hall Of Fame, it is in fact not the only shady aspect to the Hall Of Fame inductions that gets some speculation. Indeed, there are other factors that could get someone’s foot in the door. While Rocky Johnson and High Chief Peter Maivia could have had lesser careers and still have been inducted due to them being in the family tree of the most electrifying man in sports entertainment, they are still worthy of their inclusions, being a former tag team champion in a very popular tag team in the Soul Patrol, and a major contender to the WWE World Title, respectively. However, someone like Cowboy Bob Orton, who is most notable for his time as a bodyguard for true WWE legend Roddy Piper, can be disputed as being deserving. However, much of his son Randy Orton’s billing and promotion has been based on him being a third generation superstar. Has his father Bob Orton’s induction into the Hall Of Fame helped Randy, as the first of those two generations above him has made the big time? Does something like this make it a less honorable award for others?
Overall, I would have to disagree with Bruno Samartino and say that the WWE HOF, despite having some minor setbacks, is generally a pretty credible, elite collection of the greatest wrestlers to step foot into the ring. There’s some cracks in the foundation, but it still stands and passes the building codes. The aforementioned Savage and Samartino are notable exclusions, and their absences really do bring down the veracity of the hall. But WWE, by no fault of their own, is not something like the National Football League where there is no real competition to their company, nor is anyone really trying to compete with them. Besides arena football, the NFL is the only premier professional football league. But in this instance, no one says the NFL has a monopoly on football. They ARE professional football.
To a knowledgeable wrestling fan, someone who really knows and understands it when compared to your average person, WWE produces professional wrestling, but they are simply the current holders of a virtual monopoly in sports entertainment. There are other sources for professional wrestling, most notably TNA, that can reasonably challenge WWE in years to come. WWE is like any major television network, any movie production studio, or record label. Should Death Row records (I’m not sure what they’re called now) become on bad terms with Dr. Dre, should they exclude him? The big names of the 80s, such as Hogan, Piper, Orndorf, Dusty Rhodes, Sgt. Slaughter, Mr. Perfect, and The Iron Sheik are included. Even questionable inductees like perennial midcarders Tito Santana are still worthy, as Tito wrestled in a near record 8 consecutive Wrestlemanias, and was a solid, entertaining part of holding the midcard together for so long.
The WWE Hall Of Fame has indeed been under speculation. While it’s overall integrity is sometimes in doubt, the truth is they really can't conduct themselves the way that Major League Baseball conducts their HOF. The Hall Of Fame is only a small part to the whole of the overall business when looked at relatively, and business needs to be put at the forefront over credibility. Randy Savage might not be in, but setting an example where you show your current employees that respect for your boss and organization is important is something that can not be underestimated. The absence of men like Samartino and the inclusion of someone like Bob Orton takes away some of the elite honor that should be involved, but that is forgivable and comprehensible. If I was a retired WWE performer, I would be elated, flattered, and honored to be included.