Tha O Show is very excited to introduce to tha O-sters our latest innovation. We have decided it is time to bring some legitimacy and authenticity to the virtual space used to honour the all time greats in the history of this business. So please, let me introduce to you Tha O Show’s “Hall O Fame”.
Unlike the WWE’s version, or any other territorial halls, ours will be free of kayfabe, political agenda or favoritism.
Ok, fine. Maybe a little favoritism.
The following is the criteria, rules and regulations that must be followed for any nominee to be inducted into Tha O Show’s Hall O Fame.
i) Has been retired from active (re: regular) competition for a minimum of four years. For example: Terry Funk and Mick Foley would qualify as retired competitors for the number of bookings they have actually taken in the past four years. The Rock would qualify as retired. Ric Flair is obviously still listed as active. Trish Stratus has retired but has not yet met the mandatory four year waiting period.
ii) A career that lasted no less then eight calendar years. This rule applies if being inducted as a worker, announcer, promoter or other member of the business. The eight years need not have been spent on television, and need not be consecutive. I.E. if a worker took a year off to re-hab an injury.
iii) All nominees will be evaluated on the total body of their contribution to the business. Work rate, longevity, marketability, in-ring success, and more.
iv) All nominees will be brought forward to Tha O Show voting committee consisting of Big Daddy Donnie, Dan-e-o, Frank Fronte and a panel of professional wrestlers (active or retired). We will hand out ballots to workers and ask for their votes. No less than 50 ballots will be distributed to workers prior to each induction.
v) Inductions will happen on a monthly basis. It is conceivable that a given month will yield no inductee. Each month, Tha O Show reserves the right to induct up to three nominees.
The following categories will be formed in Tha O Show’s Hall O Fame.
Professional Wrestlers
This includes male or female North American stars on or off television (career indy stars are eligible) and international workers
Managers
There is a distinction between ‘managers’ and ‘valets’. Valets are not eligible for
induction.
Announcers
Play by play, colour commentators or ring announcers. Backstage announcers or people doing ‘stand ups’ are not eligible.
Promoters
This includes but is not limited to: company owners, bookers, writers, and agents.
Send your nominees to hallofame@thaoshow.com or leave a comment write here on this story.
The first induction will happen Tuesday March 20th 2006.
24 comments: on "Introducing: The Hall O Fame"
You can't induct, but you can nominate
Miss Elizabeth was a valet. She is most deserving of a spot in any professional wrestling Hall of Fame.
Also, Mene Gene Okerlund, who is known for his interviews is well deserving also, but listed as not eligible based on your criteria.
If some career indy guy like Reckless Youth or American Dragon is one day going to be inducted, certainly Elizabeth and Okerlund should, as their contributions to the business are much greater.
The first inductee will say a lot about what direction this is heading. I nominate Gordon Solie. That should keep us in touch with what a wrestling Hall of Fame is actually supposed to be about.
Let's be serious. What is Elizabeth's contribution to the business? She was a decent looking piece of fluff who never said a word.
By today's standards of a diva she never would have been hired.
She stood out in an era where women in wrestling looked like Sheri and Moolah
So can you nominate people already in the Hall oF Fame?
I can't induct, but I will nominate several guys for induction now and further down the road.
Owen Hart
Randy Savage
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat (I believe he meets the criteria, not sure though, correct me if I'm wrong)
Elizabeth is the First Lady of Professional Wrestling. Her mere existance equaled buys. She carried herself with class always, something which is lost on today's wrestling divas. However, with Miss Elizabeth, most of today's divas wouldn't exist, because Vince McMahon started marketing beauty with Elizabeth. So what that she wasn't a surgically enhanced Playboy posing bimbo. That is a positive thing. Elizabeth managed Randy Savage to the Intercontinental and World Heavyweight title, as well managing Hogan and Flair to World Titles.
She was an instrumental part of some of the greatest wrestling stories and feuds of all time. Her wedding to Savage at Summerslam and the aftermath feud with Jake Roberts is the stuff of legend.
There is no reason to undermine this woman's contribution's to the business.
Miss Elizabeth paved the way for a new type of woman in wrestling and did it with style and grace. She is a true legend.
Elizabeth had class and wasn't surgically enhanced?? KAYFABE!
Here are some noms
Owen Hart
Bret Hart
Lou Thesz
Hulk Hogan
Randy Savage
Roddy Piper
Dusty Rhodes
To clarify:
People who have been inducted into the WWE's Hall Of Fame ARE eligible for our TRUE Hall O Fame.
If they meet our criteria and receive the required number of votes.
I think ted debiase should be in the hall of fame. The man is one of the greatest heels in the history of wrestling and he probably made more world champions then anyone else, except perhaps Ric Flair.
You are only inducting one person a month, 12 per year, correct?
Here are my picks for the Modern Era:
Hulk Hogan
Andre the Giant
Randy "Macho Man" Savage
Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal)
The Steiner Brothers
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
Ricky Steamboat
Ted DiBiase
Gordon Solie
Harley Race
Dusty Rhodes
(Buddy Rogers, Freddie Blassie, Gorilla Monsoon, Antonino Rocca, Ernie Ladd, George Steele, Pedro Morales, Pat Patterson, Killer Kowalski, John Studd, Don Muraco, Greg Valentine, Jesse Ventura, Big John Studd, Don Muraco, Greg Valentine, Junkyard Dog, Sgt. Slaughter, Billy Graham, Tito Santana, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Hart, Paul Orndorff, Iron Sheik, Gene Okerlund, Sensational Sherri, Verne Gagne, Curt Hennig, Nick Bockwinkel, and Mr. Fuji are all very deserving members of any wrestling Hall of Fame.)
Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat
Lou Thesz
Killer Kowalski
Pedro Morales
Bruno Sammartino
Superstar Billy Graham
Rowdy Roddy Piper
Tito Santana
Iron Sheik
(original) Sheik
Verne Gagne
Buddy Rogers
The King Harley Race
The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal)
Miss Elizabeth
Mean Gene Okerlund
Hulk Hogan
Andre the Giant
Bret & Owen Hart
Sensational Sherri
George Steele
Classie Freddie Blassie
Bobo Brazil
Jay Strongbow
Terry Funk
Gorilla Monsoon
Fabulous Moolah
Antonino Rocca
Sgt. Slaughter
Nikolai Volkoff
The Blackjacks
If they dont have to be retired:
Ric Flair
Yoshihiro Asai (Ultimo Dragon)
Jushin Liger
Keiji Mutoh
We are inducting 1 per month - but reserve the right to induct up to three and reserve the right to not induct anyone in a given month if the panel is apathetic about a sheet of nominees.
If the idea here is to make this a legit hall of fame, then MOST of the names listed are NOT hall of famers.
I would delete
Pedro Morales
Superstar Billy Graham
Tito Santana
Iron Sheik
Verne Gagne
Miss Elizabeth
Mean Gene Okerlund
George Steele
Classie Freddie Blassie
Bobo Brazil
Nikolai Volkoff
The Blackjacks
And Jesse Ventura? Only if he's put in as an announcer cuz he was as bad a worker as the great khali and kurrgan.
Wow, this is an excellent idea, and the list of people I could think of could go on and on for days, but I'll just put 5 for now.
Magnum T.A.
Owen Hart
Mil Mascras-tell me though if he's eligible.
Brian Pillman
David Arquette
Note*the above is a joke so dont go apeshit, I'd really like to see The Rock in, because he really did do alot during the boom period, and wasn't a bad worker.
In no way can you dumbdown Elizabeth's contributions and believe your own bullshit. She did more for women in this business than silicone and Vince Russo. Bar none Elizabeth was and still should be the measuring stick on what females in non wrestling roles should be based on.
Jim J, why would you eliminate Blassie? Blassie was THE heel. Blassie could also work a match, and if you wanted a scientific match, he was a go to guy. Also why would you eliminate the Blackjacks? On another note, I'm kind of a mark for Superstar, but I definently understand that alot of people dont like/hate/despise/loath him, so I'll leave that one alone.
sry bout my huge list but heres my 12:
Ricky The Dragon Steamboat -
for his amazing athleticism, contributions towards technical wrestling, notable rivalry with ric flair, and face persona...
"Steamboat, you're the consummate baby face [sic]. I [could] send you out to the ring with a chainsaw and you can cut off both of Hulk Hogan's arms, and the fans just wouldn't believe it."
- Pat Patterson
Bruno Sammartino
Longest-running championship reign in professional wrestling history. (7 years, 8 months)
Biggest drawing card throughout the 60's and 70s
Sold out Madison Square Garden 187 times!
need any other reasons?
Fabulous Moolah
Longest title reign of any athelete in any sport. (1 day short of 10 years)
She also held the womens belt in an unofficial capacity for over 30 years!
Along with Johnnie Mae Young, defined what REAL wrestling women could do.
Hulk Hogan
One of the few legends bigger than the sport itself.
Terry Funk
Not the first hardcore wrestler of course (Id give that honor to Wild Bull Curry) but he did popularize, champion, and exemplify the hardcore wrestling style, without losing a step of credibility.
Andre the Giant
The essential Big Man. His charisma, massive size, and strength made him a legend.
Jimmy Superfly Snuka
While not the first high flyer, not even close... (Bull Curry's son Flying Fred as well as the Mexican/Japanese wrestlers had been doing it for years) Snuka popularized top rope action in America, and like Terry Funk's hardcore flavor, still kept his amazing technical in-ring abilities.
Without Snuka, could we expect to see a CM Punk or Jeff Hardy today?
Rowdy Roddy Piper
One of the best promo cutters in the history of the sport, coupled with a rough and tumble style gave the feeling of a frenetic, chaotic-style that was purely Piper.
Miss Elizabeth
Everyone else has sung Miss Elizabeth's praises, so I wont need to.
The Road Warriors
It was hard picking only one tag team to appear on my list, but I went with the Road Warriors as a personal favorite. They worked seemlessly as a team, and appeared legitimately powerful enough to defeat any "dream" team of mixed singles stars. The Warriors captured gold everywhere they went and for good reason.
Bobo Brazil
Broke racial buriers in professional wrestling during the height of segregation. Despite all of this Bobo Brazil remained a fan favorite regardless of race.
He was so well loved that Classy Freddie Blassie once commented: "The fans would have committed murder, had Bobo asked."
* Fought Andre to a draw
* NWA World Heavyweight Champion
* Won versions of the U.S. title (16x) and the only person to ever win them all (Detroit; Mid Atlantic; Toronto; San Francisco) as well as the WWWF US Championship.
Gordon Solie
Arguably the greatest announcer... EVER... IN THE WORLD...
BTW that was hard as hell... I honestly feel bad for leaving off so many other deserving wrestlers.
HONESTLY WHAT DID ELIZABETH CONTRIBUTE???
Lets see, she was a valuable asset to have at ringside, the announcers put her over as such, and the fans honestly believed it. She led 3 wrestlers to championships, and still maintained the managerial quality late into her career and in the dying days of WCW. Not many could have that kind of longevity, especially a female in todays wrestling world. She has to be given credit for that. I'm not calling you a sexist but if a man had half that much to offer most would call him, "one of the greatest." She was a key part to several storylines, from the 80's to the late 90's and around the turn of the millenium. Thats 3 decades she was a part of in wrestling. Remember when she removed her skirt at I think Summerslam, that was groundbreaking, and set the bar for these pieces of eye candy in wrestling today, but when Elizabeth did it, it definently meant something, today it's just so Vince and the 16 year olds can pop a bone.
Shoes on the other foot, what did she not contribute that we say she did?
I agree with D.J.B. on that, she played a really big role in some feuds. She was the reason behind the Mega-Powers splitting up, and the Hogan/Macho Man match at WrestleMania 5, which is considered by many fans to be among the 25 greatest title matches of all time (according to the WWE Championship DVD, anyway; voting was probably kayfabed, but it was still a dope match) was the culmination of a feud that was practically built entirely around her. Tell me how many times in WrestleMania history the valet has been just as big of a part in the feud, if not a bigger one, than the fact that the match is for the championship. I can only think of one, MAYBE two if you count the McMahon/Jericho angle from WrestleMania X8, MAYBE three if you count WrestleMania 2000. Those two are iffy. Regardless, out of 23 'Manias, only three of them had a feud centered around a manager where one guy just happened to be the champion.
I believe those were the only examples, anyway. Someone correct me if I missed one. The point is, she played a huge role in the storylines of whomever she was the valet for. One of the credentials for "Tha Hall O Fame" is contribution to the business. You'd put in Vern Gagne because he was a pioneer of mat wrestling, why not put in someone who was a pioneer of divas/valets?
On a more somber note...In case you haven't heard, Arnold Skaaland, a former WWE superstar manager well known for, among other things his part in the controversial ending of the Bob Backlund/Iron Shiek championship match, has passed away. He was 82 years old.
On behalf of Tha O Show, I would like to send our condolences to the family and friends of Skaaland.
Thanks Brian, and I totally agree with the pioneer thing, as she was a if not the true pioneer for divas/valets.
I read about Skaaland today as well, and I too would like to send condolences.
This is such a terrible time for the wrestling community lets just hope this number stays the same and does not increase as far as those who have passed on recently.
Will tag teams be inducted as a team or individually?
Maybe they'll be inducted individually as teams. Seriously though thats a good question.
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