Now that the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame (HOF) ceremony and WrestleMania week is over with, its time to look to the future and predict who might be in next year’s HOF class.
With WrestleMania in Florida next year, it would be the perfect time to induct some Florida natives. Along with the Floridians, it would be nice to see wrestlers and non-wrestlers who have been waiting for years and years to go into the hall. Although this is a “dream” class for 2020, I will roughly be sticking to the formula WWE has gone with for the past couple of years; One headliner, a couple of single wrestlers, one tag team, one non-wrestler, one woman wrestler, and one person to go into the celebrity wing. I will not be listing any legacy or Warrior award recipients who I think should be inducted.
Now that the “rules” are out of the way, let’s get down to business and list my dream 2020 WWE Hall Of Fame Class.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Headliner)
Inducted by: John Cena
Rocky Maivia, The Brahma Bull, Dwayne, or The Rock; whatever you call him, he is the most electrifying man in sports-entertainment and the dream headliner for the class of 2020.
Hailing from Maimi, Johnson played college football for the University of Miami Hurricanes for four years before signing with the WWE in 1995. He debuted in 1996 as Rocky Maivia and in 1997, joined the Nation of Domination. In 1998, The Rock would rocket to superstardom, becoming the most popular wrestler in the company.
From 1997 to 2002, the Rock would win the WWE Championship seven times, the Intercontinental Championship twice and the WWE Tag Team Titles five times (3 with Mick Foley, 1 with Undertaker, 1 with Chris Jericho). He would win the WWE Championship once more in 2013.
In 2004, Johnson would leave WWE only returning seven years later in 2011. Rock hosted WrestleMania 27 and the next night on Raw made a match with John Cena for Wrestlemania 28 and later 29 with sporadic appearances between and since then. The Rock, no doubt, deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and what better time than in his home state. It would be fitting to see Cena induct him with the great rivalry the two had.
Christian
Inducted by: Edge
Although Christian is not a native Floridian, he does reside in the sunshine state and has been a name that fans have been clamoring to see go into the HOF. Christian signed with WWE in 1998 after trying out and then training at Dory Funk Jr.’s wrestling school. In September 1998, Christian would make his televised debut and would make his in-ring debut in October defeating Taka Michinoku for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship.
Edge and Christian would form the Brood along with Gangrel, then the Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness before splitting off into a tag team in 1999. From 1999 to 2001, the duo would compete in multiple TLC matches and win the Tag Team championships seven times.
In late 2001, Edge and Christian would split up and Christian would win the Hardcore, European, hold the Tag Team titles twice (Lance Storm and Chris Jericho) and the Intercontinental Championship three times.
In late 2005, Christian would leave WWE for TNA, picking up the moniker of Christian Cage. Cage would stay in TNA for three years, departing in late 2008. During his time in TNA, Christian would win the NWA World Championship two times.
In February 2009, Christian would return to WWE, making his return on the new ECW brand, defeating Jack Swagger for the ECW Championship. During his second run in WWE, Christian would win the ECW Championship two times, the Intercontinental Championship once, and won the WWE Championship twice. In 2014 Christian retired from wrestling, leaving behind a legacy worthy of the Hall of Fame and who better to induct him than his in-ring partner and out-of-ring best friend.
Vader
Inducted by: Sting
Big Van Vader was a man who wrestled for some of the biggest wrestling promotions in the world. During his career, Vader wrestled for Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association (AWA), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) World Championship Wrestling (WCW), WWE, Impact, and more.
Leon White, the man behind the mask, was a nationally ranked football center in high school, eventually getting recruited by the University of Colorado. Coming out of college, White was drafted 80th overall to the Los Angeles Rams in 1978. Unfortunately, White suffered a career-ending knee injury.
Seven years later, in 1985, White was trained and started wrestling for the AWA. During his early years in the business, White would continue to wrestle for the AWA and Catch wrestling. in 1987, White would move to Japan, wrestling for NJPW under the new moniker Big Van Vader.
Vader would stay in Japan for two years. During his time in Japan, Vader would win the IWGP tag titles once with Bam Bam Bigelow and the IWGP Heavyweight championship three times in three years.
White would move back to America in 1990 and begin wrestling for WCW. During his six-year stint in WCW, Vader would become one of the company’s top heel and win the United States championship once and WCW heavyweight championship three times. Vader would make his debut in the WWF in the 1996 Royal Rumble. Just as he did in WCW, in the WWF Vader played the heel feuding with Yokozuna, Goldust, and Kane within the first couple years of his arrival.
After negotiating his release from WWF in 1998, Vader returned to wrestling for All Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH. After leaving Japan in 2002, Vader reached a semi-retirement, only wrestling sporadically for Impact, WWE, the independent circuit, and Japan.
In June 2018, Leon White died of heart failure leaving behind a no-doubt Hall of Fame legacy. It would be fitting to see Vader’s in-ring rival Sting, induct his real-life friend into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Demolition
Inducted by: The Revival
Barry Darsow and Bill Eadie formed the tag team Demolition in 1987. After their debut, Demolition would feud with likes of the Killer Bees, Strike Force, the British Bulldogs, the Hart Foundation, and many more. At Wrestlemania 4, Ax and Smash would win their first Tag Team Championships from Strike Force.
They would go on and hold it for 478 days, the longest any team had held the titles. They would lose to the Brainbusters but regain the titles 76 days later. This time they would only hold the championships for 72 days. Their next and final title victory would come at the misfortune of the Colossal Connection, Haku and Andre the Giant. Their final reign would last 148 days.
Demolition ranks first and second in longest combined tag reigns and for the longest single reign, respectively. They have a combined 698 days between their three reigns lasting 478, 72, and 148 days. Their 478-day reign is ranked second behind the New Day’s 483-day reign. Although the tag team only lasted four years, the two formed a fearsome duo and spent about half their time in the WWF with titles around their waists.
There is no doubt that Demolition deserves to go into the Hall of Fame and should who should induct them? The Revival as a team to pay homage to classic teams and are sure to have high praise for the fantastic duo.
Eric Bischoff
Inducted by: Diamond Dallas Page
Our next inductee has been in the AWA, WCW, WWE, and Impact. A polarizing figure, Bischoff is seen as a genius by some or a fool by others. After getting his start in the AWA, Bischoff was recruited by WCW as an announcer in 1991. In 1995, he was executive producer and by 1997, he was president of the promotion.
In 1996, the NWO was founded and led to WCW going through a boom period, surpassing WWF in the ratings. Bischoff and WCW would continue their success until their downfall subsequential buy-out in the early 2000s.
In 2002, Bischoff would join WWE as the GM of Raw. During his time as GM, Bischoff would feud with John Cena, Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels, and Stephanie McMahon, among others. He would also create the Elimination Chamber match, the same one we know today. After his on-screen “firing” in 2005, Bischoff would make sporadic appearances for WWE before his last one in 2007.
Bischoff would join Impact in 2009, becoming the executive producer. During his time in Impact, Bischoff fought with Dixie Carter over control of the company, formed a faction, and even wrestled in a couple of matches. In 2016, Bishoff signed a legends contract with WWE and the next year inducted Diamond Dallas Page into the Hall of Fame.
What better way for Page to return the favor than to induct Bischoff. Although Bischoff may be polarizing, he undoubtedly had a monumental impact on the Monday Night Wars and deservedly, should go into the Hall of Fame.
Sable
Inducted by: The Bellas
Sable was one of the original divas in WWE, in an era where women were valued more for their body and good looks rather than talent and wrestling skills. Sable was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida and was a model before joining the WWE in 1996. She would make her debut as the valet for a young Hunter Hearst Helmsley at Wrestlemania 12. Sable would soon begin valeting for and eventually feuding with Marc Cero, her real-life husband.
Sable would wrestle in the WWE for only four years in 1998 – 1999 and 2003 – 2004. During those four years, Sable would only be in 41 matches, only 19 of those were televised on tv or pay-per-views. In November 1998, Sable would win the WWF women’s championship defeating Jacqueline. She would hold it for six months, losing it in May of the next year to Debra in an evening gown match.
Although some may disagree, Sable was an essential part of the attitude era and deserves to be inducted. Who should induct her? The Bellas were a stepping stone from Sable’s era to the era today, and who better to pay respect than to Sable, one of WWE’s original diva.
Cyndi Lauper (Celebrity Wing)
Inducted by: Stephanie McMahon
The rock n’ wrestling connection was an alliance between the then WWF and music sensation Cyndi Lauper. This alliance helped lead to the wrestling boom of the 1980s After meeting Lou Albano and having him star in one of her videos, Lauper would in return help out the WWF, appearing on numerous shows.
Lauper would feud with Albano and help get MTV to broadcast “the brawl to end it all”. Lauper would interfere and assist Wendi Richter in winning the Women’s Championship. Lauper would go onto escort Richter in the first WrestleMania and feature multiple wrestlers in her music video.
The rock n’ wrestling connection was a pivotal part of the WWF’s 80’s boom and none of it would have happened without the help of Cyndi Lauper, who should have gone into the Hall of Fame a long time ago. The best person to induct Lauper would be, Stephanie McMahon, a woman who may not be where she’s at without the help of Cyndi Lauper and the rock n’ wrestling connection.