I previously wrote an article covering surefire WWE hall of fame omissions, that need to be rectified very soon in the near future. In this article I will cover members of professional wrestling history who deserve an honorable mention, in regards to be inducted into the hall of fame.
First up Miss Elizabeth, the “Macho Man” Randy Savages valet. While she never wrestled during her career, she was an integral part of storylines involving Macho Man. Her most notable storyline was playing a part in the “rift” between Macho Man and Hulk Hogan. She was also the first “pretty” face in WWF and sole job was to stand by Macho Man and look attractive. She should be inducted solely off being the first true valet, and the first “diva” before WWF started using that term. Sadly the circumstances of her unfortunate death are what I believe are keeping her from being inducted.
If Miss Elizabeth was the first diva, Sable was the first superstar diva. At the height of the Attitude era Sable was what came to mind, when people thought of WWF Divas. She was attractive, had sex and crossover appeal, and had enough wrestling training to do what was asked of her. She was also the first WWF diva to make the cover of Playboy. She had some mainstream crossover appeal and surely contributed to the popularity of the WWF during the attitude era. It could be debated who was the first diva her or Sunny, but Sunny has been inducted and so should Sable.
Lex Luger deserves a honorable mention to be in the hall of fame. While never the most technical wrestler, he displayed power moves in his arsenal which made him exciting. He may have failed when WWF gave him the honor of being the “top guy” but that was not his strength. His strengths were his look, his power moves, longevity, and the ability to be a good bit player in some good moments in wrestling history. He was a Horseman, a WWF and WCW champion, bodyslammed Yokozuna, was a front line player in WCW battle against NWO, and was a member of NWO Wolfpack. He even managed to stay somewhat relevant in WCW dying days, by rebranding as the Total Package. I believe his role in Miss Elizabeth’s death, and his lifestyle before turning it around is holding him back.
Big Van Vader as he was known in WCW, or simply Vader in WWF is next on the list. He may never be in the conversation as a true legend, but he was just as damn good to be on the next tier. When he was “the mastodon” in WCW, his size made him scary enough when he walked to the ring, throw in the mastodon helmet that breathed smoke he was damn near terrifying. Once he was in the ring he was even scarier, very agile for his size, vicious, and a devasting powerbomb he was unstoppable. He didn’t make much of an impact in WWF, truthfully because they probably didn’t understand him but he deserves consideration based on his body of work in WCW and in Japan.
WWE has started acknowledging the guys who made ECW what it was by inducting the Dudley Boyz this year, and with that Tommy Dreamer deserves a spot in the hall. Plain and simple he was ECW and what it stood for. His feud with Raven is a classic, and not just the matches but the whole backstory of their history as youths. Their story included childhood bullying, acceptance, and love triangles pretty much one of the greatest and relatable storylines in wrestling history. A bland persona, and ok skill set didn’t stop his determination. He was very loyal to ECW and lived and breathed it, he was also a great teacher of younger wrestlers. To this day there are so many people who give credit to Tommy Dreamer for teaching them so much about the business. With a great mind for the business, and being the epitome of ECW he should be inducted.
While we’re on ECW you can’t leave out “Mr. Monday Night”, “The Whole F’N show” Rob Van Dam. He had a laid back Mr. Cool demeanor about him, and a Arsenal that had you on your feet, he produced hundreds of exciting bouts in ECW. His five star frog splash, rolling thunder, spilt legged moonsault were just some of his signature moves that had folks anticipating when it would come. Just like Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Dam was ECW even if people never saw a ECW show they knew Rob Van Dam wrestled for ECW. When you talk about ECW, his name is one of the first that come up. During his heyday he was the personification of a human highlight reel. For that he deserves to be in the hall.
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