7 Overdue inductions into the WWE Hall of Fame

The class for the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame is already starting to take shape with the reveal of the first two acts due to be inducted next year. Former six time World Champion Batista and the New World Order (Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman) are set to be immortalized in the hallowed Hall.

For the four members of the NWO, it will be their second inductions. However, there are many notable names in wrestling history that are yet to receive their first Hall of Fame rings.

The current incarnation of the WWE Hall of Fame has been active since 2004, when the Hall was unearthed to coincide with the twentieth edition of WrestleMania. It had originally been set up in 1993 to mark the passing of Andre the Giant, who had died in January of that year. Created three decades after the company's formation, the timing appeared to have been perfect to establish the Hall. Andre was the only inductee in 1993 and this was marked simply by a video package rather than a ceremony.

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The problem for WWE came the following year when the company had to fill out a full class. Many of it's former stars now employed by WCW, and that put a restricted on whom they could realistically enshrine. As the Monday Night War stepped up in 1995 and 1996, this became more prevalent, forcing WWE to abandon it's Hall for eight years.

In 2019, WWE is virtually free to induct whomever it chooses, which begs the question, why are there so many legends yet to be inducted? This slideshow looks at the seven most overdue names that are yet to be inducted but should have been enshrined years ago.

#7 Ivan Koloff

The "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff actually hailed from Canada, but despite his true heritage he was one of the most feared "foreign" menaces in American wrestling history - particularly during the 1960s and 1970s.

The most famous moment of Koloff's long career was his WWE Championship winning effort that ended the legendary, record breaking seven year title reign of no other than Bruno Sammartino. That incredible event took place in front of a 20,000 sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden on January 18, 1971.

You could hear a pin drop in MSG, when Koloff pinned Sammartino clean as a whistle following a knee drop from the top rope. Sammartino would later state that he thought he had gone deaf following the decision due to the complete silence in the arena. In truth, the crowd was in a state of shock that the once invincible champion had been defeated.

However, Koloff had a long and successful career before and after his famous title win, most notably in the NWA where be was a multi-time Champion. To this day though, Koloff is the only WWE Champion from the 1963 to 1991 period yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Unfamiliar to modern audiences, it is most likely that Koloff, when he is inducted, will be part of the Legacy Wing. Perhaps this long overdue induction will finally occur in 2020.

#6 Demolition

During the 1980's one tag team dominated the global wrestling scene. That was Hawk and Animal, better known as the Road Warriors. When Vince McMahon was unable to sign the tandem away from the NWA, he decided to create his own version instead. Thus Demolition was born.

To their credit, Ax and Smash were far from a cheap knock off. Their act was a sensation and the team became an incredibly talented and popular duo in their own right. Demolition would win the Tag Team Championships three times while other top teams, such as The Rockers and The Killer Bees, never won one.

Their longest reign lasted a mammoth 478 days between WrestleMania IV and an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event in July 1989. That was the longest reign in the history of the title which was active between 1971 and 2010.

However, these days Demolition are persona non grata in WWE, which makes their Hall of Fame induction extremely unlikely. Since the act left the company, they have been big critics of Vince McMahon and involved in several lawsuits filed against the company. That means their Hall of Fame induction is not likely to occur any time soon.

#5 Vader

There is a simple reason that the late, Leon "Vader" White has not yet been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. That is that Vince McMahon did not rate the big man.

While it is true that Vader wasn't at his peak in WWE, that he did it elsewhere in WCW and Japan, that assessment of his worth is unfortunate.

Vader needed shoulder surgery when he signed for WWE in late 1995 and McMahon rushed his new signing back at least six months earlier than he should have. As a result, the Mastadon failed to hit the ground running in the company. Add to that, the fact that Vader was outmanoeuvred politically by the backstage Kliq faction of Shawn Michaels, Triple H et al and the big man never had a chance in WWE.

Prior to his 1996-98 WWE run, Vader was one of the highest paid stars in wrestling in the early-nineties when he reigned as WCW World Champion. Vader contested sterling matches with the likes of Sting, Ric Flair, Cactus Jack and Hulk Hogan.

Vader also enjoyed a career resurgence in Japan post-WWE wherein he won the All Japan Triple Crown in March 1999, with hard hitting victories over Kenta Kobashi and Akira Taue.. He would lose the Triple Crown to Mitsuhara Misawa and regain it from Misawa later in 1999. March 6, 1999.

As Vader’s success was mainly outside WWE, it may be sometime before he is enshrined into the WWE Hall of Fame. However, this induction is long, long overdue.

#4 The British Bulldog

Davey Boy Smith: Not in the WWE Hall of Fame

Over a decade and a half after his death, the “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith is still the most famous and revered British wrestler of all time.

With a career that spanned over 20 years, Smith began his career on the original ITV World of Sport programme, before working for Stu Hart’s Calgary promotion.

In 1984, Smith signed with WWE along with his cousin Dynamite Kid, and formed the tandem, the British Bulldogs. The pair were on of the premier tag teams in the company until 1988, during which time they captured Tag Team gold once.

The pair left WWE at the end of 1988 but Smith returned as a solo star in October 1990. Immediately pushed as a player, Smith ascended the singles ranks and captured the Intercontinental Championship in the SummerSlam 1992 headliner, in front of his home fans at London's Wembley Stadium.

Smith was shockingly fired just months later, after failing a drug test, and signed for WCW. He resurfaced back in WWE at SummerSlam 1994 and finished runner-up to Shawn Michaels in the 1995 Royal Rumble match.

The British Bulldog became the first European Champion in WWE history when he won the brand new title in a tournament, defeating brother-in-law, Owen Hart in the final on the March 3, 1997 Raw.

Smith won every title there was to win in wrestling aside from a world title. Despite that omission, his place in the Hall of Fame is obvious and deserved.

If Smith were alive today, there is no doubt he would have been inducted years ago. His premature, drug related death at the age of 39 would appear to be the reason he is yet to be enshrined. Having passed away, 17 years ago, it's clear Smith's induction is long overdue.

#3 Eric Bischoff

Eric Bischoff: Should be going into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the nWO

The nWo are due to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020. It is inexplicable that Eric Bischoff, the mastermind behind the formation of the group and the onscreen advocate of the influential faction from 1996 to 1998 will not be enshrined as part of the nWo.

In fact, it is unbelievable that Bischoff has not been inducted already.

Bischoff is best know as the former head of WCW who came closer than anybody ever has or ever will, to putting Vince McMahon out of business. t

Bischoff was given the reins of WCW after a revolving door of bookers such as Bill Watts, Dusty Rhodes, Jim Herd and others had failed to make the company a profitable entity and serious competition for McMahon.

Looking to Japan for inspiration, Easy E happened upon a storyline with which he would base the nWO upon. He also identified Light-Heavyweight stars such as Jushin Liger and Chris Jericho. Forming the Cruiserweight division, these stars along with the likes of Rey Mysterio Jr and Dean Malenko wrestled a style never before seen by Western audiences.

In combination with aggressively pursuing former and current WWE talent such as Hogan, Hall and Nash to main event the shows, Bischoff’s WCW became a financial juggernaut and hot-bed of creativity not seen in the sterile family friendly WWE programming of the mid-nineties.

Although Bischoff lost his grip on the promotion in 1999, he remains one of the most influential figures in wrestling history, one which beat the WWE in the Monday night ratings war for 83 weeks straight. He resurfaced in WCW in 2000 and again in WWE, this time in 2002 in an on-screen capacity as Raw General Manager. He left the company in 2006, before he joined TNA in 2010.

As recently as 2019, he was employed by WWE as part of the creative team on SmackDown. That relationship was short lived and Bischoff was shown the door in October after only three months at the helm. Despite his firing, Bischoff and WWE remain on good terms.

In some ways, it isn't that surprising his induction hasn't occurred yet due to the fact by inducting him, WWE would have to admit that Bischoff was good at his job, when WCW was defeating WWE week after week. However, his fingerprints are all over wrestling and no Hall of Fame in wrestling is complete without Bischoff in it.

If the WWE Hall of Fame was an independent entity, this induction would have happened long ago. As it is, we may have to wait a little longer for this overdue enshrinement to occur.

#2 Owen Hart

Owen Hart: Untimely death is the barrier for Hall of Fame induction

Owen Hart was the youngest of Stu and Helen Hart’s 12 children.

Like his brother Bret, Owen achieved international stardom in wrestling. They were the only two of the Hart children to do so.

Owen was never as famous as his elder brother, but he was every bit his equal in the ring, evidenced by the pair's classic bouts at WrestleMania X and SummerSlam 1994. Owen upset Bret at 'Mania but failed to capture the WWE Championship from Bret inside the blue barred steel cage at SummerSlam.

Hart never did win the WWE Championship but he won every other major title in WWE. He reigned as Intercontinental, European and Tag Team Champion in a glittering career which was tragically cut short at the age of 34 in a horrific accident that occurred at the 1999 Over The Edge pay per view event.

During a gimmicked entrance, wherein he was supposed to be lowered into the ring from the ceiling, Owen's harness prematurely opened, sending him falling ninety feet to his death.

WWE would surely love to induct Owen into it's Hall of Fame and no doubt they would have done so many years ago had his widow, Martha not been so strongly opposed to it.

For that reason, Owen's WWE Hall of Fame induction seems likely to remain long overdue.

#1 The Rock

The Rock is without doubt the most famous pro-wrestler on the planet which makes his lack of a Hall of Fame induction baffling to say the least.

It seems unfathomable that the man born Dwayne Johnson will not be inducted one day, but there is no question that his induction is already long, long overdue.

Rock has not been a full time wrestler since 2002 and has not wrestled a single match lasting longer than six seconds since 2013, when he lost the WWE Championship to John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 29.

The Rock’s in-ring wrestling tenure was relatively short by Hall of Fame standards, with him only being a full-time superstar for six years; however, in that time, “The People’s Champion” won nine World Championships (7xWWE, 2xWCW/World), and also captured Intercontinental and Tag Team gold and won the 2000 Royal Rumble match.

The Rock headlined three consecutive WrestleMania's from 1999 to 2001 and returned in 2011 to headline both the 2012 and 2013 editions. The Rock’s comeback also encompassed a tenth World title reign in which he ended CM Punk’s modern day record 434-day run with the WWE Championship at the 2013 Royal Rumble.

Presumably, The Rock's A-list Hollywood career and busy film schedule is the barrier to induction. Perhaps a Hall of Fame berth has already been offered to the "Great One" and he has declined due to other commitments.

Regardless of the circumstances, that have prevented Rock's induction occurring before now, it is unquestionable that he is the most overdue Hall of Fame induction of them all.

Edited by Pratyay Ghosh