WWE waits for some wrestlers to die before inducting them into the Hall of Fame, Danny Davis claims

Dangerous Danny Davis believes WWE purposely avoids inducting some wrestlers into the Hall of Fame while they are alive.

Davis, 66, is best known for his spell with WWE between 1981 and 1995. The former Hart Foundation member worked as a referee during that time. He also wrestled under several different ring names, including Mr. X.

The veteran wrestler recently explained on the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast why he has a problem with the WWE Hall of Fame:

"They won't, or don't want to, spend a lot of money to bring myself in, a couple of my family members, put me up, and all that stuff," Davis said. "They wait until you pass on and then they'll put you in posthumously and it won't cost them." [31:38 – 31:56]

Recent posthumous inductees include Big Boss Man (2016), Rick Rude (2017), Chyna (2019), Jim Neidhart (2019), The British Bulldog (2020), and Vader (2022).

Davis thinks WWE only approves long-awaited Hall of Fame inductions when they make sense from a financial perspective:

"That's a harsh thing to say, but you look at who's being inducted and you see that there are a lot of people that aren't with us no more that are being inducted, and they're trying to make it seem like, 'We missed them, we should have done it before.' I know the truth and you know the truth. It's cost-effectiveness, and that's all this business is about now, is money." [32:01 – 32:29]

Paul Bearer (2014) and Randy Savage (2015) were also posthumously inducted into WWE's elite group after they had already passed away.

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Danny Davis' WWE Hall of Fame credentials

Davis had a successful run as a heel referee in the 1980s. He also wrestled high-profile names such as Bruno Sammartino and Ricky Steamboat.

Bret Hart's former on-screen ally went on to question why other referees from his era have not yet been inducted into the Hall of Fame:

"One way or the other, they could put me in as a referee, they could put me in with The Hart Foundation, they could put me in as Dangerous Danny Davis, so there are options," Davis added. "Look at Earl Hebner, look at Dave Hebner, who just left us last year. I don't get it, I don't get it." [32:53 – 33:12]

In 2020, former WCW and WWE referee Nick Patrick discussed the same topic with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Dr. Chris Featherstone. He said referees do not receive Hall of Fame inductions because the company is reluctant to pay royalties to former officials.

Do you agree with Danny Davis' claim? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Please credit the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.