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Tanaka Talk: WWE Hall of Fame 7/11/11

Hello, I’m Kouji Tanaka, and once again this is Tanaka Talk! This week’s discussion is about the WWE Hall of Fame. No, I’m not here to bash the hell out of Drew Carey being in it, and I’m not going to whine about them having a celebrity wing. Instead, I’m going to tell you who I would induct into it, but not necessarily all in one year.

On April 4, 2011, the WWE said they would induct one woman and one celebrity into the Hall of Fame each year. That means, I’m going to have to include one of each in this article. With that being said, I’ll start off with who I would have be the headliner.

The Rock
Some are going to argue that either The Rock doesn’t deserve it, or The Rock left WWE or whatever, but I still believe he has a spot in the Hall of Fame. Next year, the Hall of Fame is going to be in Miami, which basically gives away this induction. But then again, WWE doesn’t seem to care about towns, because they were in Atlanta last year and they didn’t even do a WCW-themed Hall of Fame. Why?

Anyway, The Rock has been captivating audiences all around the globe with his great promos, and he was decent in the ring as well. If he doesn’t get inducted and people like Koko B. Ware and Drew Carey do, then that’s just not right.

“Macho Man” Randy Savage
Like I said, not all of the people I’m going to mention should be inducted in one year. Savage definitely deserves to headline as much, if not more than The Rock.

Randy Savage died earlier this year from heart conditions. It really sucks that WWE never even acknowledged him before that and it took him dying for his face to be broadcasted on WWE Television. Nobody knows the true reason why Vince McMahon despised Randy. There has been rumors circulating for years, but nothing is really confirmed. Anyway, alongside Hulk Hogan and the beautiful Elizabeth, Randy Savage lit up the WWF in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They were an awesome team, but all good things must come to an end. And like you probably guessed, Hogan came out on top, because, well, can you name a time when he hasn’t?

Either way, Savage was impressive all the way from his debut to his WCW run until his retirement. I know he’s in a better place now, and it’s a shame that he won’t be alive to see his eventual induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Mr. T
“What? Did he just type Mr. T? Are you kidding me?” Calm down guys, I am not trying to insult your intelligence. Like I mentioned before, WWE has plans to include a celebrity and a woman into the HoF each year. Mr. T is the (only) celebrity I would choose.

Mr. T deserves it more than any other celebrity because he appeared at the first Wrestlemania. That is almost thirty years ago. He was at Wrestlemania when John Cena was just 7 years old. Enough about the numbers though. Mr. T teamed up with Hulk Hogan when Hogan was just becoming the mega-star we unfortunately know him for today. They took on Paul Orndoff and Roddy Piper. I bet you already know the match result, but in case you don’t know Hogan like everybody else does, Hogan won. AGAIN.

Mitsuharu Misawa
Unless you follow Japanese wrestling, or you have heard the name on the internet somewhere, you are probably thinking, “who the hell is Mitsuharu Misawa?”

Well, Mitsuharu is one of the greatest Japanese wrestling legends to step into a ring and put on a clinic. If you have time, I definitely think you need to check out some of his stuff. He had an illustrious 28 year long career, which ended abruptly when he died during a match in June 2009. I don’t think he ever worked for an American wrestling company, but he is still regarded as one of the most popular wrestlers ever.

While most people would probably say, “Eh, some random Japanese guy in the Hall of Fame? No thanks,” people who are familiar with this man’s work will definitely want him in the Hall of Fame.

Alundra Blayze
Alundra Blayze, or Madusa, was a true talent. She shows that beautiful women can learn how to wrestle. Apparently John Laurinaitis doesn’t think so, but he’s an idiot. Back to the article though, Alundra was very beautiful and she could deliver some great matches in the ring as well. This was back when women’s wrestling was respected in the WWF. Oops, I just used those three initials that are never to be spoken of!

Of course if you followed both WCW and WWE back then, you would know that Alundra is probably unlikely to ever be put in the Hall of Fame while Vince McMahon is still living. That is because Alundra showed up in WCW and threw the WWF Women’s Championship into the garbage. She later stated that Bischoff coerced her to do it and she regretted it, but what’s done is done.

Focusing on the good though, Alundra had some great matches with a lot of talented women in the 1990s, and then she went to ruin her career in WCW. But in my opinion, she definitely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame more than Trish Stratus. (Sorry, I’m not a fan of her “work.”)

Owen Hart
Owen Hart is another man who should be headlining a Hall of Fame class. Owen unfortunately won’t be getting inducted any time soon though. His widow, Martha Hart, will not allow WWE to make any money off of the Owen Hart name, and she refuses to have anything to do with them. She blames them for Owen’s death completely.

It’s hard to watch any Owen Hart match and not think of his inevitable death, but he definitely had some good mat skills. When I think Owen Hart, I think of the classic matches he put in with Stone Cold, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and even that classic match from 1998 where he and Edge fought.

He was also a great tag team competitor, winning the WWF Tag Team Championships four times, with Yokozuna, Jeff Jarrett, and The British Bulldog. It will be a shame if Owen never gets inducted because I’m sure he would have loved to have been in the Hall of Fame. But you can’t be mad at Martha, I mean if your spouse died from complications at work, would you want that same workplace making money off of their name? I guess it all depends on how you perceive it, but I think Owen will some day get into the Hall of Fame. We can only hope.

That’s it! That’s my WWE Hall of Fame 2012 class right there. Of course, there are other deserving wrestlers that should be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but keep in mind that I had to narrow it down to five. I’ll post my honorable mentions below though.

Honorable Mentions
Chris Benoit
The British Bulldog
Arn Anderson
Vader
Bam Bam Bigelow
Ron Simmons
Jake “The Snake” Roberts

If I missed anybody good, let me know in the comment section! Thanks for reading. This is the second edition of Tanaka Talk, and I’m Kouji Tanaka! See you next week.

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Comments

  1. Comment #1

    Did you just say Chris Benoit? He will NEVER be in the Hall of Fame in WWE

    Posted by AYO on Monday, July 11, 2011

  2. Comment #2

    AYO us right WWE never gets over people with controversial deaths Especially if the person was a great wrestler He had the technical talent of Bret hart maybe better he was as good as if not better than s and anoh and Ron Simmons: DAMNteve asutin at brawling

    Posted by MLister on Monday, July 11, 2011

  3. Comment #3

    To AYO, "Instead, I’m going to tell you who I would induct into it, but not necessarily all in one year."

    Posted by The Bouncer on Monday, July 11, 2011

  4. Comment #4

    Like Bouncer said, I posted who I think deserves it and who I would induct if I was in Vince's shoes. While I don't like what Benoit did, he put on some amazing matches and sacrificed his body every night to put on a great show for the fans. That to me is Hall of Fame material.

    Posted by Kouji Tanaka on Monday, July 11, 2011

  5. Comment #5

    Benoit = Fail, will nevr and shouldn't be inducted

    Jake = I dont think he will, he was great for the bussiness but his demons ruined his career, he is too much of a drogadic to ever be inducted.

    Posted by Manuel Taker on Monday, July 11, 2011

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