WWE Hall of Fame 2016 Predictions

This article is part of #ATPW24, in aid of MIND Charity. You can help support the cause by going to www.justgiving.co.uk/acrossthepondwrestling

Now, the title of the article might say predictions, but this is going to more like a random list of names than anything resembling a coherent argument for why these name will be in next year. So don't come running to me when every single one of them is wrong!

The Undertaker

It writes itself really doesn't it? Undertaker's hometown, one last hurrah at WrestleMania, preceeded by entering WWE's Hall of Fame the night before. Imagine Undertaker's speech, after being inducted by lil' bro Kane, shootin' the shit with all the decades of knowledge that he's built up. There is really only one headliner for next year's Hall of Fame, isn't there? And that is The Deadman.

Davey Boy Smith

If only so poor Michael Finney of "Team DBS" can finally relax! It's another long overdue induction for the Davey Boy and next year could be his year. It's always heart breaking to see someone inducted posthumously, but Davey's family would do a fantastic job with an acceptance speech, and Bret Hart would stand out as an ideal inductor for the former Intercontinental Champion!

Kamala 

Let's make this thing fully international, let's reach all the way to Uganda! The Ugandan Giant hasn't been seen for a good few years in WWE, but his belly smacking antics certainly made an impact during his run. Jerry Lawler stands out as a potentially inducter for Kamala. The only question would be whether Kamala would break character for his induction speech!

Baron von Raschke

Representing the old school, von Raschke shouldn't be held back by his limited time in the WWE, after seeing a number of dudes who never even wrestled for the Fed get inducted in recent years. He's a well known name with a recognisable gimmick, who held numerous titles through the seventies, eighties and even into the nineties. Surely von Raschke is due an induction into the HOF?

Goldust

Another Texas boy who's winding down his in-ring days after a tremendous return to the WWE. Is there a better way of capping off that return then having his father "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes cement his legacy by inducting him into the WWE Hall of Fame? An always entertaining character and an underrated in-ring performer, 2016 could be Goldie's year.

Chyna

Almost certainly the most controversial pick, but Chyna fits two categories WWE looks to fill. She's a woman and she'll add that shock value both for the announcement and the ceremony itself. Just who'd be willing to inductee her I'm not sure, but if it means she stops doing weird Youtube videos it'd make me a happy man.

Celebrity Inductee
David Arquette

Simply because someone has to go in. Let it be Arquette for the banter. He held the World Heavyweight title, that's more than Roddy Piper ever did and he's in.

So, there you have it, seven of the greatest ever names to grace the sport of professional wrestling...but how many will get inducted into next years Hall of Fame? We'll just have to wait and see.

Daily Royal Ramble #3 (26th March 2014)

Hello, and welcome to another Daily Royal Ramble! Number 3 no less! 

Now, I should probably talk about last night's Main Event on the WWE Network, however due to an issue with my bank card I was unable to gain access to the Network (It works fine now!) and therefore have yet to view last night's Main Event (I'll probably catch it on a replay somewhere down the line) 

So instead let's chat about something that I missed yesterday...the WWE Hall of Fame induction of Razor Ramon. Coincidentally you can now vote for ATPW's 4th Hall of Famer at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VMM9M6H, with the options being Ric Flair, Vince McMahon, Jr, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Davey Boy Smith. Now, check out Ramon's induction video below...

When this video went out on Raw this Monday, there was a lot of discussion about the decision not to include any footage of Scott Hall in WCW or his short WWE return, with the package focusing only on Ramon footage from WWF. Many seemed almost upset about this, "How dare WWE not include any nWo footage!" It was really quite bizarre. 

There are a number of reason that I wasn't at all bothered by there being no WCW footage. Firstly, the best work of Scott Hall was arguably as Razor Ramon. Yes, the nWo was the most revolutionary ideas ever to be stolen from Japan, and for a while it did massive ratings for WCW, but how many memorable singles contests did Hall have in WCW? And didn't the nWo eventually strangle WCW to death? Wasn't it Scott Hall who tasered Goldberg to end his undefeated streak? Yeah, let's just honour Razor Ramon, eh chico? 

Alongside this, it was made very clear that it was the Razor Ramon character entering the Hall of Fame, not Scott Hall...yes, Scott Hall played Razor Ramon on WWF television and then went on to play another character called Scott Hall for WCW and later WWE, but the character and the performer are two different things. It's like getting upset that a video package dedicated to David Arquette's Dewey Riley character in Scream, doesn't feature any footage of Gordie Boggs! 

Finally, I'd also expect that WWE are planning a big induction for the nWo, somewhere down the line, with Scott Hall being a big part of that induction. So the performer Scott Hall would be honoured twice, but not the character of Scott Hall, if you get my drift. Whether, WWE will see fit to induct the entire nWo, or just the original three (Hall, Hollywood Hogan and Kevin Nash) is yet to be seen, but I can't quite imagine them putting the likes of Konnan, Horace Hogan and Buff Bagwell into the Hall!

Rightio, I think that's enough Ramble for today, make sure to check back tomorrow for more musings, as well as the second edition of Adam Ross' All-Star Search! Oh, I'm also writing up another What A Difference A Year Makes this time focussing on The Shield, so watch out for that!