5 early predictions for the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame class

The WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony is as much a part of WrestleMania as the show itself. As the "Road to WrestleMania" begins, we know it's only a matter of time before that year's class of inductees are announced, week by week.

When it comes to "fun WWE stuff to make predictions about," guessing who will be inducted that year is right up there with guessing Royal Rumble surprise entrants.

For this list, we split the inductions into five categories: headliner (essentially the final inductee of the night), mid-card legend, women's wrestler, tag team or faction, and celebrity.

Of course, this format isn't strictly followed, but that's what we're going with.

There's no such thing as a "first ballot" WWE Hall of Fame inductee, as there isn't a "ballot" per se. Whether or not Vince McMahon picks each inductee himself or has a committee involved, it's improbable there are actual "votes" involved.

Other things we took into account are where WrestleMania is being held this year (Dallas, Texas), who is still on good terms with WWE, who will draw the most viewers, and, you know, who deserves to be in there.

We also considered the fact that the "Forbidden Door" has been "opened," meaning it's not out of the realm of possibility that someone signed with a rival company could be inducted.

Keep in mind this shouldn't be taken too seriously.

So here are the five names we think will be inducted into the 2022 class of the WWE Hall of Fame.

---

#5 WWE Hall of Fame "Celebrity Wing": Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

When Professional Boxing icon Floyd Wayweather, Jr. was part of WrestleMania XXIV, he was already considered one of the greatest pro fighters of all time.

His match at that event with the Big Show helped it draw 1 million pay-per-view buys, as well as a ton of mainstream press coverage for the company.

Mayweather also appeared on Raw the following year, guest-hosting the episode and helping MVP and Mark Henry defeat the then-Tag Team Champions Big Show and Chris Jericho.

While Mayweather's problematic past personal life could be an issue, the fact remains that the boxing legend is still a draw.

Floyd was a significant part of a highly successful WrestleMania, and, let's face it, he's probably going to get into the Hall of Fame eventually.

#4. WWE Hall of Fame tag team: Doom

There's been a recent trend in WWE Hall of Fame inductees - and it's not a bad trend, by any means - where a successful former tag team (or faction, even) of an existing Hall of Famer is added.

This serves the double purpose of both inducting that deserving superstar a second time, as well as their partner, who may have been overlooked throughout the years.

We've seen this fairly recently, with Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray), the Hart Foundation (Bret Hart/Jim Neidhart), and Chyna as part of D-Generation X.

It even goes back to 2012, when the Four Horsemen were inducted, making Ric Flair the very first two-time WWE Hall of Famer and also inducting JJ Dillon, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard, as well.

Doom, one of the most dominant and powerful tag teams in WCW history, consisted of current WWE Hall of Fame member Ron Simmons (aka Faarooq) and his partner, Butch Reed.

Before teaming up with Simmons, Reed already had a pretty impressive career, wrestling in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation - even being in the main event of the very first Survivor Series show.

Sadly, Reed passed away in February of last year at the age of 66.

Doom originally debuted wearing masks and managed by Woman (the late Nancy Toffoloni).

Eventually, they ditched the masks, took on current Hall of Famer Teddy Long as their manager, and defeated probably the best tag team of that era, the Steiner Brothers, for the WCW Tag Team Championships.

In the history of pro wrestling, Doom is an important but often forgotten team, deserving of induction. This should be the year it happens.

#3 WWE Hall of Fame women's wrestler: Kaitlyn

There are plenty of female performers over the years that deserve to be in the WWE Hall of Fame this year. There's at least a couple of dozen that probably should be in there already. But that's not what we're predicting here.

This list isn't about who is the most deserving to go in, but who will most likely go in.

Kaitlyn had a great career during her time in WWE. She was the winner of the third season of the original iteration of NXT and is also a former Diva's Champion.

She also returned to action in 2018 to take part in the second-ever Mae Young Classic tournament, even making it to the second round.

The former WWE star also had some great feuds over the years with the likes of AJ Lee, Layla, and Eve Torres (who we also considered for this pick).

Should that be enough to get someone inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame? Probably not.

It's nothing to sneeze at, but it's nothing compared to the careers that other inductees, such as Lita, Trish Stratus, and Jacqueline, have had.

On the other hand (and no disrespect meant to her), Torrie Wilson is also in the Hall of Fame. Wilson isn't without achievements of her own, but they don't exactly overshadow Kaitlyn's.

But what we're really taking into account here are the other aspects that WWE considers when picking Hall of Fame inductees. For starters, Kaitlyn is still a recognizable name and someone the intended audience for the Hall of Fame broadcast will remember.

Also, Kaitlyn is from Houston, TX - and WrestleMania takes place less than ten hours north in Dallas.

So, this one might be unlikely, but it's certainly not impossible.

#2 WWE Hall of Fame mid-card star: Hornswoggle

Don't kid yourself - the WWE Hall of Fame will eventually, one day, count former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Hornswoggle among its members. It just will, and the sooner you just accept this fact, the sooner we can all move on with our lives.

There's no argument that Dylan Postl isn't a talented pro wrestler. He just is. While his (very) short stature has been the focal point of his character for pretty much all of his career, he's very good at what he does.

During an episode of Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast, Hornswoggle didn't want to be a "midget" wrestler but just a very "short cruiserweight."

Throughout Hornswoggle's WWE career, he's been involved in several high-profile storylines, including being Vince McMahon's illegitimate son and being the "Anonymous Raw General Manager."

He's also the only WWE Superstar to have been a part of both D-Generation X and 3MB. That, in itself, should get someone inducted right there.

To be honest, this one probably gave us the most difficulty picking.

There are many great names they could induct into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, like Rick Martel, William Regal, or, heck, throw open that Forbidden Door again and induct Goldust.

Any of those guys could still be inducted alongside Hornswoggle.

We just want to see that video package that will inevitably play before his speech. That should be nothing less than hilarious.

Hornswoggle has been many things throughout his career, and a member of the WWE Hall of Fame is undoubtedly going to be one of them.

#1 WWE Hall of Fame headliner: The Undertaker

If there was ever a year to induct the Deadman into the WWE Hall of Fame, this would be that year.

That's just off the top of our heads, too. Undertaker entered WWE in 1990 and, despite the fact he swears he's retired, there's always the possibility he'll still come back and perform "one more time."

WWE could have probably inducted The Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame any time of the past decade, but have always held off. Presumably because of some now-outdated notion that you have to wait until you're retired before going in.

Maybe because it's just never felt like the right time. When it finally does happen, it's going to be a seriously major moment.

Or maybe he just doesn't want everybody to make such a fuss. That kind of sounds like him.

Of course, we all know that there's no way he will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame anywhere else but Texas. Well, unless they ever hold WrestleMania in Death Valley for some reason. That seems a tad unlikely.

Word is also getting around that The Phenom will also be in St. Louis for the Royal Rumble this year. This means he'll either be a part of the Rumble match or part of a significant announcement.

Whatever the reason, people are going to tune in to see him. Because he's the Undertaker.

You're going into the Hall of Fame sooner or later, Mark. Might as well get it over with.

So, those are our early picks.

You probably don't agree with most of them, so yell at us in the comments section and tell everybody who should go in.