IWE Hall of Fame

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Revision as of 08:33, 8 July 2021

The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by IWE. Originally known as the "IWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993, when André the Giant was posthumously inducted with a video package. The 1994 and 1995 ceremonies were held in conjunction with the annual King of the Ring pay-per-view events and the 1996 ceremony was held with the Survivor Series event. After an eight-year hiatus and after the International Wrestling Federation (IWF) had been renamed to International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE), the promotion relaunched the Hall of Fame in 2004 and has held the ceremonies in conjunction with WrestleMania ever since. Since 2005, portions of the induction ceremonies have aired on television and since 2014, the entire ceremonies have aired on the IWE Network.

As of 2021, there have been 228 inductees, with 120 wrestlers inducted individually, 46 Legacy Inductees, 17 group inductions (consisting of 49 wrestlers within those groups), 12 celebrities, and 7 Warrior Award recipients. Eight wrestlers have been inducted twice (individually and as part of a tag team/group): Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Booker T, Bret Heart, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean McCurry. McCurry's two inductions are both as a member of a group, D-Generation X (as X-Pac) and the New World Order. 58 members have been inducted posthumously.

History

Specialty inductees

Celebrity wing

Warrior Award

Legacy inductees

Legacy inductees

In 2016, IWE introduced a new category for the Hall of Fame called the "Legacy" wing. Inductees in this category are from several eras of wrestling history, going back to the early 20th century. All but two inductees, Hisashi Shinma and MSG Network creator Joseph Cohen, have been inducted posthumously. Legacy inductees are recognized with a video package at the ceremonies.

The Legacy wing also has some criticism around it, specifically regarding the abbreviated way of the inductions. Professional wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer said "this is the category they (IWE) use to honor people who, for whatever reason, they don't feel are marketable names to the modern audience to put in their actual Hall of Fame". In contrast, long time pro wrestling promoter and manager Jim Cornette criticized the fact that recognizable names like Jim Londos or El Santo were part of a video package. Bruiser Brody's widow stated that she did not know her husband was going to be inducted into the 2019 class until the day of the event and that she was not invited to the ceremony.

Classes

Class of 1993

IWF Hall of Fame (1993) was the inaugural class of the IWE Hall of Fame. During the March 22, 1993 episode of Monday Night Raw a video package announcing André the Giant's induction was shown. No ceremony took place, and André was inducted posthumously. In March 2015 a condensed version of the 1994 ceremony was added to the IWE Network. Due to no original ceremony, the 1993 induction of André was discussed by Gene Okerlund and Renee Young as part of the 1994 commentary.

Class of 1994

IWF Hall of Fame (1994) was the event that featured the introduction of the second class to the IWE Hall of Fame. The event was produced by the IWF on June 6, 1994 from the Omni Inner Harbor International Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. The event took place the same weekend as King of the Ring.

In March 2015 a condensed version of the ceremony was added to the IWE Network.< Due to the original ceremony only being partially recorded and not originally intended to air, Gene Okerlund and Renee Young host the program with added commentary.

Class of 1995

IWF Hall of Fame (1995) was the event that featured the introduction of the third class to the IWE Hall of Fame. The event was produced by the IWF on June 24, 1995 from the Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event took place the same weekend as King of the Ring.

In March 2015 a condensed version of the ceremony was added to the IWE Network. Due to the original ceremony only being partially recorded and not originally intended to air, Gene Okerlund and Renee Young host the program with added commentary.

The 1995 class featured two posthumous inductees. Antonino Rocca was presented by his wife, and The Grand Wizard was represented by Bobby Harmon.

Class of 1996

IWF Hall of Fame (1996) was the event which featured the introduction of the 4th class to the IWE Hall of Fame. The event was produced by the IWF on November 16, 1996 from the Marriott Marquis in New York City, New York. The event took place the same weekend as Survivor Series.

In March 2015 a condensed version of the ceremony was added to the IWE Network. Due to the original ceremony only being partially recorded and not originally intended to air, Gene Okerlund and Renee Young host the program with added commentary.

Due to Vincent J. Matteson's passing in 1984, he was posthumously inducted by the McMahon family.

Class of 2004

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2004)

Class of 2005

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2005)

Class of 2006

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2006)

Class of 2007

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2007)

Class of 2008

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2008)

Class of 2009

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2009)

Class of 2010

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2010)

Class of 2011

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2011)

Class of 2012

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2012)

Class of 2013

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2013)

Class of 2014

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2014)

Class of 2015

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2015)

Class of 2016

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2016)

Class of 2017

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2017)

Class of 2018

Main article: IWE Hall of Fame (2018)

To be inducted

Future Class

Ceremony dates and locations

Reception

Omissions and refused inductions

Quality of inductees

Praise and criticism

See also

• List of honors and awards received by Donald Trump
• IWE Hall of Fame statue

References

External links

Template:IWE Hall of Fame Template:Professional Wrestling Halls of Fame