Who’s Next? 25 Picks For The WWE Hall Of Fame Class Of 2014By John Hancock| May 12, 2013 Wrestling Blogs Previous Page Celebrities Mr. T Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content The most famous A-Team cast member made his wrestling debut in 1985, main-eventing the first ever WrestleMania by teamed up with Hulk Hogan to wrestle “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff. Mr. T returned the next year, facing Piper again at WrestleMania II, but, this time, in a worked boxing match, a reference to T’s role in the recent blockbuster Rocky III. Throughout the mid-to-late 80’s, T made several other appearances for the WWF both as a wrestler and as a referee. He also worked for WCW, acting as referee for a match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair at Halloween Havoc 1994, and wrestling Kevin Sullivan at Starrcade later that year. Mr. T returned to the WWF for a special one-off appearance in 2001. Whether he decides to accept the offer is another story… Should Be Inducted By: Jimmy Hart Andy Kaufman Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content The king of the cringe-worthy hoax, Kaufman entered the wrestling business initially as a compliment to his comedy career by challenging women to fights in which he would become needlessly aggressive. Kaufman wanted to bring his act to the booming wrestling scene of early 80’s New York City, but he was turned away by Vince McMahon Sr. for being too theatrical. It was the work of famed wrestling photographer Bill Apter that eventually bought Kaufman into the industry, introducing him to Jerry “The King” Lawler”. The two men feuded in Memphis, a rivalry that peaked with an iconic, and controversial on-air fight during a taping of Late Night with David Letterman. The secret, that the on-set fight was staged, and that Kaufman’s subsequent injuries were faked, went unrevealed for over a decade. Should Be Inducted By: Jerry “The King” Lawler Dennis Rodman Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content Future Basketball Hall of Fame member Dennis Rodman was suspended from the NBA in 1996 for on-court violence. A fan of professional wrestling, he chose to spend his new free time in WCW as part of the New World Order. Rodman made his in-ring debut in 1997, teaming with Hulk Hogan in a loss against Lex Luger and The Giant (now known as The Big Show). The height of Rodman’s fame as a wrestler came in 1998, when he reunited with Hogan to face Diamond Dallas Page and fellow basketball star Karl Malone in the main event of the Bash At The Beach pay-per-view. Whilst the match was poorly received by wrestling critics, it garnered huge main-stream publicity for WCW. Should Be Inducted By: Diamond Dallas Page Lawrence Taylor Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content Known to New York Giants fans simply as “L.T.”, one of the greatest players in the team’s history, Lawrence Taylor has the honour of being the only celebrity to main-event a WrestleMania in a singles match. That moment came at WrestleMania XI, when Taylor defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to close the show. Pro Wrestling Illustrated praised Taylor for “looking like a pro”, calling the match “incredible” considering L.T.’s lack of wrestling experience. 411Mania agreed, calling Taylor’s in-ring performance surprisingly “solid”. Should Be Inducted By: Pat Patterson Muhammad Ali Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content Ali’s professional wrestling career technically started in 1976, when he shoot-wrestled Japanese super-star Antonio Inoki, but his involvement with the WWF began in 1985, when the boxing legend was invited to referee the main event of WrestleMania I, a tag team match that pitted Hulk Hogan and Mr. T against Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Although Parkinson’s disease limited Ali’s involvement, he was still able to pull off one of the most memorable spots of the nights; knocking out Piper for breaking the rules, a moment that foreshadowed Mike Tyson’s knockout of Shawn Michaels on the same show 13 years later. Should Be Inducted By: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper Who are your picks for the next wave of inductees to the WWE Hall of Fame? Let us know in the comments section below.
