Omissions and refused inductions 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 The 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 '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". ==See also==